21,000 sex workersin Java: Activist

MEDAN: Financial hardship has forced about 21,000 young girls to become sex workers on Java, the country's most populous island, an activist says.

North Sumatra Women coordinator Maya Manurung said on Sunday that 7,000 young sex workers were operating in East Java, Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces; 9,000 in West Java; and 5,000 in the country's capital of Jakarta.

Manurung called on the government to pay special attention to young sex workers to prevent the situation from worsening. -- Antara