Child sex workers taught self-worth<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
\"I am free.\"
\nOnie, a 16-year old girl in bootcut jeans and a tight red T-
\nshirt, writes the life-changing words on a piece of paper. A
\npiece of paper that also tells her life's story.<\/p>\n
\"I lost the love from my father when he left when I was 13,\"
\nshe wrote. Dropping out of school and coming to Jakarta marked a
\nbig change in her life. And since then, as the scars on her right
\nwrist attest, her days have been difficult.<\/p>\n
This humorous, talkative girl named Onie, who says she comes
\nfrom Karawang, West Java, makes her living as a prostitute.<\/p>\n
Onie spent several months working as a \"cafe girl\" in Bambu
\nApus, East Jakarta, getting visitors to buy cheap beers for a Rp
\n2,000 tip and before they went giving them \"thank-you kisses\" or
\nextras.<\/p>\n
She recently left the cafe and declared herself a
\n\"freelancer,\" -- perhaps the reason for \"I am free\".<\/p>\n
\"'Free' for her could mean that she holds control over her
\nlife by earning her own money after leaving the cafe,\" said
\nBurdah, a trainer from a non-governmental organization holding a
\nweek's child prostitute rehabilitation workshop. \"But we really
\nhope she meant it as a pledge to give up prostitution.\"<\/p>\n
Onie and four other 14 to 18-year-old prostitutes from East
\nJakarta, along with eight children considered to be at-risk of
\nentering the profession joined the four-day workshop aimed to
\ninitially build self-respect before equipping them with the
\nskills to plan their future and work.<\/p>\n
There are more than 5,000 children in the capital estimated to
\nbe engaged in prostitution.<\/p>\n
\"Although economic reasons have been cited for driving them
\ninto (prostitution), it is a lack of self-worth that makes them
\nstay in it,\" the program coordinator, Hery, said. \"If they want
\nto quit, it should be their own decision.\"<\/p>\n
While the girls did not openly discuss what they did for a
\nliving, the inference was clear.<\/p>\n
\"Wah, we do not sleep until 4 a.m.,\" said 17-year old Dina and
\nher younger sister Mia when asked to write down their daily
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
\"Playing\", \"still playing\" and \"not yet home from playing\" are
\nthe words they fill in as activities in time slots where most
\nchildren their age would have simply written \"sleeping\".<\/p>\n
At the end of each session, the girls were asked to identify
\nanything they thought was wrong in what they wrote.<\/p>\n
\"What you have written on the paper is now history, you will
\nleave these ideas behind and start making changes,\" trainer Teguh
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
For several awkward seconds, the girls who mostly came from
\ndisadvantaged and abusive backgrounds, sat still and stared
\nblankly.<\/p>\n
\"We use two kinds of time-consuming approaches to make them
\nspeak, group activity and one-on-one communication,\" said program
\ncoordinator Hery. \"This is the kind of program where you can
\nlimit the budget but cannot set a deadline. If you rush things,
\nthey will end up running.\"<\/p>\n
The girls were also subtly taught to measure happiness not by
\nhow much they earn but by interviewing local farmers in Ciawi,
\nBogor.<\/p>\n
\"The one I interviewed said he only earned Rp 200,000 a month,
\nbut he seemed to be living OK,\" Onie said.<\/p>\n
At the end of their second day at the workshop, happiness was
\nas simple as splashing water on each other and getting themselves
\nsoaking wet in the river.<\/p>\n
Something that children of all ages do. (003)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/child-sex-workers-taught-self-worth-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }