Children's Day and sexual exploitation of children

Arist Merdeka Sirait, Executive Director, Children in Need Special Protection Center (CNSPC), Jakarta

The first world congress against commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) was held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1996, which established that all kinds of CSEC violated child rights and are crimes against humanity.

A United Nations report estimates that in the last 10 years, 30 million girls were trafficked annually; and profits from child trafficking reached some US$7 million each year.

In Indonesia such practices were found in abundance way before the government adopted the 1996 Stockholm declaration against CSEC, particularly in the pubs, brothels and bars of main cities. Children are also in domestic work, and are found among working migrants in industries and potentially dangerous places such as the deep sea fishing structures (jermal), plantations and agricultural fields surrounded by harmful chemicals.

The Jakarta office of UNICEF (United Nations Children Emergency Fund) reported that in 2000 there were some 40,000 to 70,000 children under 18 who were victims of sexual exploitation. A number of them were trafficked abroad for prostitution to places such as Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and Taiwan.

Researcher M. Farid wrote also in 2000 that some 30 percent of all brothel workers in Indonesia were women under 18, or 200,000 to 300,000 girls. In Malaysia, of the 6,750 sex workers, 62.7 percent are from Indonesia, approximately 4,200 people; and 40 percent of them were found to be between the ages of 13 and 18.

In Batam of Riau province and Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, hundreds of sex workers are under 16. The areas where many of these children originate are generally poor areas such as Kalimantan, North Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi.

The areas where most end up domestically are big cities and tourist areas like Lombok, Bali and Batam. Abroad, they are most often sent to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Australia.

Child trafficking usually involves family, friends, labor agencies and government agencies, who play a role in, for instance, the issuing of identity cards and forged passports for groups seeking commercial sex services. Those who play such roles often include pedophiles and drug dealers.

The problem is worsened by the fact that 74 percent of children here -- some 58 million -- either have no birth certificates, or are involved in underage marriages (usually prearranged by third parties) and migrant labor. Children may also become indirect victims of violations against women and also bear the brunt of social conflicts, ethnic conflicts and war.

The characteristics of CSEC are that they are hidden either physically or through the manipulation of identity documents; second, the practice is highly mobile, moving from one brothel to another for instance; third, the practice is universal while complexities vary in different areas.

The fourth characteristic is that the practice is increasing with fears of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, so children -- perceived to be uninfected -- are in higher demand for sexual services.

In 2001, a private investigation focused on sexually exploited children in Jakarta found that malls and shopping centers -- such as those in Blok M and Kalibata in South Jakarta, Senen in Central Jakarta, Bekasi and Rawamangun in East Jakarta -- had become centers to meet minors under 16 who are deemed ready for "dating."

A syndicate was involved in coordinating these children, who were also found in middle class to high class hotels. A high- class hotel on Jl. Pramuka in East Jakarta is known as a place where school children are easy to get. The pimps are easily recognized as they aggressively promote services to potential customers.

Children of junior to senior high school age are paid Rp 200,000 to Rp 300,000 for "short time" including fees for pimps.

Such practices -- which involves deception, forced kidnapping, and collusion by certain authorities -- is clearly traumatic for the children, who are also extremely vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases.

In such conditions, the next generation will end up with large percentages of people who have been seriously traumatized.

Adopting the Convention of the Rights of the Child requires a national action plan; which has been absent despite the fact that Indonesia has been given four years to do this following the 1996 congress on the rights of the child in Stockholm.

In December, in Yokohama, Japan, Indonesia will have to make its report on the matter; what is there to report?

The ministry coming closest to such concerns is the State Ministry of Women's Empowerment, which should work with all related government bodies including the immigration office, the law enforcing agencies and also the legislature to prioritize action plans against sexual commercial exploitation of children. The role of the family must also be strengthened in protecting children from such practices.

Children must also be ensured against the possibility of being punished in sexual crimes which involve them; and all actors should be punished. The proposed action here is to mobilize law enforcement, public policy, and programs to protect children.

The government should also ratify two additional protocols of the above Convention which concern child trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography and also transnational organized crime conventions; and also two related protocols on human smuggling.

Also crucial is the encouragement of a conducive situation for education and to make sure that parents are, as far as possible, responsible for meeting the needs of their children.

Mobilization of political networks and the national and international community, including the business sector is also needed to prevent and eliminate sexual commercial exploitation of children. The media also needs an ethical standard related to coverage of all aspects of sexual commercial exploitation.

The writer is also Secretary General of the National Commission on Human Rights for Children.