Child prostitutes big problem in Jakarta

Child prostitutes big problem in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While other teenagers of her age are either strolling around the
city's malls or sitting quietly at home, 15-year-old Kartika (not
her real name) spends her nights with guests at a cafe in the
capital.

Kartika, a newcomer to the commercial sex industry, who comes
from Karawang, West Java, more often than not ends up in hotel
rooms with clients.

According to Hery, an activist from the non-governmental
organization Bangun Mitra Sejati (BMS), who has been trying to
get her to quit the business, Kartika believes "it is my body
that I am selling, but not my soul."

"Although what drives (people like Kartika) into prostitution
is inarguably money, this is not the root of the problem for
child sex workers," Hery said.

"Their families have the economic problems, not them. The
children are vulnerable and have no other recourse for income,"
he said.

Activists define child sex workers as anyone under the age of
18 engaged in commercial sex, which Hery cites as among the worst
forms of labor in the world.

In Jakarta alone, the International Labor Organization (ILO)
estimates more than 5,000 children are involved in prostitution.

The city has mapped six areas in which child prostitution
occurs in a large numbers: Prumpung in North Jakarta, Grogol in
West Jakarta, Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, Jatinegara and
Ciracas in East Jakarta and Blok M in South Jakarta.

"In terms of child prostitution or any kind of child labor, it
does not matter whether the number is small or large," Hery said.
"We have to realize that these children should not be there."

Hery, who works with three other volunteers in BMS, estimates
that more than 800 children between 12 and 18 are forced into
prostitution in cafes, hotels and warung kopi (traditional coffee
shops) in East Jakarta alone.

The children are either sold by their parents to cafe owners,
or lured to Jakarta by third parties known as calo.

ILO research shows that almost 70 percent of the children
found their way into prostitution with the "help" of their
closest relatives or friends.

"Some are victims of child trafficking, but there are many who
have their parents visiting them in the cafes regularly," he
said. The children come from poor areas in West Java like Subang,
Sukabumi, Indramayu and Karawang.

"They often have psycho-social problems that are much more
difficult to overcome than the economic ones," he said.

Kartika showed symptoms of multiple personality. "She has
positioned herself into two identities, the Kartika who sells her
body and the Kartika who still prays regularly every day," said
Hery.

Kartika, who looks no different than any ordinary country
girl, works 24/7 and receives only 40 percent of the Rp 300,000
to Rp 600,000 booking fees that her boss takes in.

"They claim to earn some Rp 2 million a month, but in fact a
lot of them are making less than that because their income is cut
by the germo (pimp)," Hery said.

In a study conducted by ILO on 12 child prostitutes, more than
70 percent of them worked more than eight hours a day.

These children are highly prone to sexually transmitted
diseases, including HIV/AIDS, physical as well as mental abuse
and often end up continuing to sell their bodies after they grow
up.

BMS and Bandungwangi, another NGO helping child prostitutes
in Prumpung, are two organizations in the capital trying to
rehabilitate child prostitutes.

"We are trying to build up their self-awareness, sit down
together to plan their future and later give them vocational
training," BMS director Anni said. "This difficult project will
be scaled up later."

"We see a difference in their eyes as they slowly convince
themselves to quit and seek other opportunities," Hery said.