I was tricked into working as a sex worker, girl says<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
The hopes of Tas (not her real name) of getting a decent job were
\nshattered after she ended up in a karaoke bar on Batam island.
\nThe 14-year old girl, who had just finished elementary school in
\nPagedongan, Banjarnegara, Central Java, was lured to Batam by her
\nown neighbor, Parwati, 25.<\/p>\n
She was enticed by an offer to work as a tea delivery girl at
\na cafe in Batam with a monthly salary of Rp 5 million. But the
\nmoment she arrived in Batam, Parwati sold her to the MK karaoke
\nbar in Kampung Pelita for Rp 1.5 million and she was forced to
\nbecome a sex worker.<\/p>\n
"My ordeal began when a friend Eka Cipta Novendi, 22,
\nintroduced me to Parwati who promised me a job. As I was
\nunemployed and wished to earn my own money, I just believed her
\nthen," said Tas.<\/p>\n
"I left for Batam on June 7 with another girl, with the
\ninitials BD, 25, without saying goodbye to my family and with
\nonly the clothes I was wearing at the time," she said hesitantly,
\nholding back tears.<\/p>\n
Since she did not bid farewell to her family, her relatives
\nthought she had gone missing.<\/p>\n
Her identity was falsified prior to her departure. Her name
\nwas stated as Fatmawati on the plane ticket and she used the
\nalias Indah Fitriani Dewi at the karaoke bar. Her age was also
\nstated as 19.<\/p>\n
Upon arriving in Batam, Tas was taken to the karaoke parlor by
\nParwati and was greeted warmly by its manager she identified only
\nas Agung.<\/p>\n
Through an employee, Wiwi, she was told that she had been sold
\nby Parwati for only Rp 1.5 million to work for five months. She
\nwas charged Rp 1.5 million for her meals for five months, which
\nwas considered a debt.<\/p>\n
During her stay on the industrial island, Tas had once tried
\nto escape but was detected. She was eventually forced to become a
\nsex worker for six weeks and had been booked by guests of the bar
\non at least 13 occasions.<\/p>\n
A guest pays Rp 280,000 for a single booking -- Rp 80,000 of
\nwhich would go for the taxi fare, Rp 100,000 for her pimp and Rp
\n100,000 for herself (in the form of a voucher that could only be
\ncashed upon completion of her contract).<\/p>\n
On July 31, 2004, a social worker with an non-governmental
\norganization managed to sneak her out of the parlor by booking
\nher and then took her to Barelang Police Station.<\/p>\n
Tas later flew to Yogyakarta on Aug. 12. From there, she
\nreturned home to Banjarnegara, accompanied by activists of the
\nAnak Merdeka Indonesia Foundation (SAMIN).<\/p>\n
The foundation later reported Tas' case to Banjarnegara Police
\non Aug. 20. Three other NGOs -- the Setara Semarang Foundation,
\nthe Yogyakarta Women's Joint Secretariat and Yogyakarta's
\nIndonesian Women's Coalition helped in the case.<\/p>\n
"Eka was immediately arrested by the Banjarnegara Police that
\nnight on charges of child trafficking. However according to the
\npolice, Parwati has fled to Malaysia," said Buyung Ridwan
\nTanjung, a lawyer representing Tas.<\/p>\n
The plight of Tas highlights similar cases of child
\ntrafficking, which is widespread across Indonesia rated the
\nworld's third worst country in its commitment against women and
\nchild trafficking.<\/p>\n
An estimated population of 230,000 women and child sex workers
\nwere trafficked throughout the country. Data from the United
\nNations Children's Fund (Unicef) shows there were some 70,000
\nchildren were involved in the commercial sex industry, some 30
\npercent of them below 18 years of age.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/i-was-tricked-into-working-as-a-sex-worker-girl-says-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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