Prostitution ring blamed for HIV spread on Batam Island<\/p>\n
Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam, Riau<\/p>\n
Thriving prostitution has become a source of the spread of HIV in
\nBatam, a fast growing industrial estate island close to Singapore
\nand a magnet for economic migrants from all over Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The Batam local administration has officially stated 112 cases
\nof people with HIV\/AIDS (PWAs) in 2002, twenty of which have
\nsince passed away.<\/p>\n
No comparative figures were available. But the numbers could
\njust be the tip of an iceberg, as officials admitted to being
\nunaware of the true extent of the HIV spread on the island of
\n520,000 people, said the head of Batam's health office, Puardi
\nDjarius last week.<\/p>\n
He said the general assumption was that each PWA could spread
\nthe virus to 10 partners or other people with whom he\/she had a
\nrelationship, meaning the actual number of HIV cases in Batam
\ncould be much, much higher.<\/p>\n
\"This is a matter of individual lifestyle, we can't ban people
\nfrom changing their partners,\" Puardi said.<\/p>\n
Batam's economy is one of the fastest growing in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Its designation as an industrial island offers various
\nbusiness incentives, which generate thousands of new jobs as
\ninvestors, mainly from Singapore, set up their plants here.<\/p>\n
Thousands of migrants from throughout impoverished areas of
\nIndonesia have since come to the island in search of work. Along
\nwith that influx, many of whom are husbands away from their
\nwives, however, also comes a thriving sex industry.<\/p>\n
\"HIV is spread here mainly by sex workers,\" said Evianora
\nAzwar of the Family Health Partner Foundation (YMKK).<\/p>\n
Batam's health office data showed the island had official data
\nof some 7,000 prostitutes -- those who are legally registered and
\nwork in government regulated establishments. However, the actual
\nnumber could be closer to 20,000, or some 13,000 illegal ones,
\naccording to the foundation. Evianora said many sex workers were
\npart of an illegal, organized prostitution ring, and many
\neventually returned to their home areas in Java or elsewhere
\noften not even knowing they had contracted HIV.<\/p>\n
\"If this continues I fear Batam could turn into a source of
\nHIV spread for most of western Indonesia.\"<\/p>\n
She added that many of the prostitutes' clients were visiting
\nSingaporeans on the island. They find sex workers in places like
\nkaraoke bars, massage parlors and various gambling dens.<\/p>\n
She said most sex workers were between the age of 17 and 30,
\nand charged from Rp 280,000 (about US$31) to Rp 500,000 for each
\n\"date\".<\/p>\n
But the ease with which visitors can find commercial sex
\nworkers in Batam is not balanced by adequate measures to prevent
\nsexually transmitted diseases, Evianora said.<\/p>\n
Registered sex workers were officially subject to medical
\ncheck-ups once a month, she said, but did not say whether the
\nillegal sex workers did the same.<\/p>\n
\"Those who are diagnosed with HIV are merely fired by the
\nestablishment that employs them and sent back to their home areas
\n(often Java),\" she said.<\/p>\n
The best way to slow the spread of HIV in Batam, she added,
\nwas for the local administration and police to combat illegal
\nprostitution and impose tougher rules on the legal ones.<\/p>\n
\"The government, in this case, the social office and the
\npolice and the local administration need to be aware of this
\nproblem.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prostitution-ring-blamed-for-hiv-spread-on-batam-island-1447893297",
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