Child prostitution thrives in Yogyakarta

By Gin Kurniawan and Sumanto

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Along the famed tourist street of Jl. Malioboro and other areas here, youngsters dubbed cilikan (small) have become popular for the sexual services they offer.

Information leading to their whereabouts is provided by amateur guides, becak (pedicab) and taxi drivers.

"Come, Oom (uncle), I'll take you... There is accommodation with cilikan nearby," is typical of the offers received by new arrivals at Tugu train station.

The prostitutes gather in the mall on Jl. Malioboro and public places in the area. Koencoro, a University of Indonesia psychologist, confirms the fears of Arist Merdeka Sirait, a child workers' rights campaigner in Jakarta who fears that child prostitution is on the rise.

Koencoro said that in Yogyakarta the phenomenon is not new, adding that the city could even be used as a barometer of child prostitution in the country.

If that is true then the problem is certainly getting worse in Indonesia.

Koencoro, who has conducted a number of studies on child prostitution here, says that the children are now becoming more open about the fact that they are cilikan.

However, this emboldened attitude hides but does not heal the scars which the sordid trade leaves on young, undeveloped minds.

Koencoro said that selling sex at a young age leads to a constant feeling of inferiority, deep-seated feelings of guilt which frequently disturb sleep patterns, a split personality and difficulty telling right from wrong.

"Some of the children tear up the money they earn because they feel that it is haram (forbidden by religion)," said Koencoro.

He added that the youngsters, especially those selling sex for material needs, quickly became dependent on the profession.

"And if pregnancy occurs, it is likely to be unplanned and unwanted," Koencoro added, pointing out that this had a knock on effect on the next generation because unwanted babies would face problems through that most unfortunate status.

There is also cause for concern over the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. The prostitutes receive very little sex education at school and overburdened health workers are still busy teaching adult prostitutes why it is so important to use condoms.

However, concerns about such miserable fates were far from apparent in the faces of the cheerful youngsters standing in front of a Yogyakarta department store at 2 a.m. one morning.

A girl with the face of a 14-year-old emerged from the giggling crowd, a small trendy bag on her back.

She briefly chatted with the middle-aged driver of a sedan which had just pulled up, then the short-haired pretty girl jumped into the car which then sped away.

Another of the group, 17-year-old Evi (real name changed), said she first had sex with a classmate at school before going on to adults.

Koencoro could not say how many child prostitutes were working in Yogyakarta. The problem, he explained, was that some girls worked for a number of pimps making it very difficult to estimate the total extent of the problem.

Pimps

Informed sources said that there were at least eight pimps who provide young prostitutes. Red-light areas where they operate include Pasar Kembang, the beaches of Parangtritis and Samas, and the large shopping centers and hotels in the city. Child prostitutes in Parangtritis are said to have moved there from Keseneng Purworejo after angry local residents burned down brothels in the town earlier this month.

Koencoro groups child prostitutes into three categories -- amateurs, professionals and experimenters, the last of which are known as prk. The professionals are the ones standing by in houses owned by pimps. Prk, an abbreviation of perempuan experimen (woman experimenters) are the ones out looking for fun. They like to be taken shopping or to a restaurant, and are more selective about who they go out with, he said.

He said the pimps sold the children for Rp 150,000 for a short time. The youngsters receive 60 percent of what their clients pay the pimps.

"The high fee they command results from the belief held by some people that their virility will be enhanced by having sex with children. They also think it brings good luck," Koencoro said.

He has observed that child prostitution has become a more professional business, with pimps training girls in techniques to please men using rented pornographic films as prompts.

One of the main reasons children get drawn into prostitution, the psychologist argues, is out of curiosity. "They get very little sex education." They are also encouraged by the "high societal orientation towards material needs."

A steady demand for young prostitutes makes eradicating this form of child abuse even more difficult, he said.