Child prostitution on the rise in RI: NGO

Child prostitution on the rise in RI: NGO

By Nita Nursepti

JAKARTA (Antara): Trading in female children continues under
the pretext of reducing unemployment or helping parents earn a
living. Many of these children have been forced into
prostitution.

In its latest edition, Buletin Suara APIK states that child
prostitution in Indonesia has reached alarming levels.

Led by well-known activist Nursyahbani Katjasungkana LBH-APIK,
which puts out the bulletin, is a Jakarta-based non-governmental
organization which advocates for women's rights.

The bulletin said stopping the trade in underaged girls was
"very difficult" because the lucrative business involved well-
organized syndicates which had the power to silence their
victims.

The situation is worsened by slack law enforcement and the
fact that people in general turn a blind eye to this social ill.
Most people blame the trade in underaged girls on the girls' own
conduct, and therefore reason that the victims do not deserve
sympathy.

Many schools have reportedly expelled students believed to
have been involved in prostitution.

LBH-APIK acknowledges it is difficult to fight the trade in
underaged girls, who often appear as if they are simply working
to help lighten their parents' financial burdens.

The organization has identified a number of factors which
hamper the fight against child prostitution: Unresponsive law
enforcers who do not follow up reports on child prostitution on
the grounds that there is no "hard evidence"; a lack of
professionalism among security authorities; victims who do not
have the courage to tell anybody about their plight; and law
enforcers who side with the perpetrators.

Indonesia does have Law No. 7/1998 on the books, which is a
ratification of the UN Convention on Women aimed at eradicating
the trade in humans and prostitution. The goal of ending the
trade in humans and prostitution has been adopted by the National
Commission on Human Rights as part of its 1998 to 2003 action
program.

The convention on women allows signatories to punish anyone
who buys, lures or encourages others into prostitution, even if
those entering prostitution do so willingly. It also authorizes
legal action against anyone who runs, funds or takes part in the
management of a brothel. This also applies to any parties who
rent their property for the purpose of prostitution.

Prostitution is also dealt with in Article 296 of the
Indonesian Criminal Code, which bans prostitution, and Article
297, which provides for the punishment of people who benefit from
prostitution and bans the trade in underaged children.

The Criminal Code clearly protects girls against sexual
exploitation. Unfortunately, the laws are not properly
implemented by law enforcers and people often blame prostitutes'
themselves for becoming involved in the trade.

For example, in North Jakarta a number of boarding houses are
made available to young women who work nights at various night
clubs. The landlords know the profession of their tenants, but
they do not take any action. Their sole concern is that their
rooms are fully occupied. Neither do people in the neighborhood
do anything, although they know the women are sex workers.

It is widely believed public inaction against the trade in
underaged women is due to the fact that Jakartans are becoming
selfish -- people are only concerned with their own business.

There are persistent reports about parents selling their
daughters into the sex trade.

The administration in Jakarta, under increasing pressure to
eradicate prostitution, has introduced a "clean and orderly
culture" campaign aimed at improving awareness about the need for
clean and safe neighborhoods. Security and order officers have
raided prostitution dens and burned down makeshift brothels.
However, the world's oldest profession continues to be practiced
in the city.

This demonstrates that the eradication of prostitution
requires more concerted efforts.

One step which needs to be taken is to empower women to escape
prostitution. Women need improved education to allow them to find
decent employment.

These efforts must involve intensive information campaigns to
get the message across that the eradication of child prostitution
requires the involvement of parents, the public and law
enforcers.

What form should this involvement take? In the face of an
increasingly "free" society, parents should exercise better
control of their children. And people should not only express
concern, but also take concrete measures to stop child
prostitution.