I was tricked into working as a sex worker, girl says

I was tricked into working as a sex worker, girl says

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

The hopes of Tas (not her real name) of getting a decent job were
shattered after she ended up in a karaoke bar on Batam island.
The 14-year old girl, who had just finished elementary school in
Pagedongan, Banjarnegara, Central Java, was lured to Batam by her
own neighbor, Parwati, 25.

She was enticed by an offer to work as a tea delivery girl at
a cafe in Batam with a monthly salary of Rp 5 million. But the
moment she arrived in Batam, Parwati sold her to the MK karaoke
bar in Kampung Pelita for Rp 1.5 million and she was forced to
become a sex worker.

"My ordeal began when a friend Eka Cipta Novendi, 22,
introduced me to Parwati who promised me a job. As I was
unemployed and wished to earn my own money, I just believed her
then," said Tas.

"I left for Batam on June 7 with another girl, with the
initials BD, 25, without saying goodbye to my family and with
only the clothes I was wearing at the time," she said hesitantly,
holding back tears.

Since she did not bid farewell to her family, her relatives
thought she had gone missing.

Her identity was falsified prior to her departure. Her name
was stated as Fatmawati on the plane ticket and she used the
alias Indah Fitriani Dewi at the karaoke bar. Her age was also
stated as 19.

Upon arriving in Batam, Tas was taken to the karaoke parlor by
Parwati and was greeted warmly by its manager she identified only
as Agung.

Through an employee, Wiwi, she was told that she had been sold
by Parwati for only Rp 1.5 million to work for five months. She
was charged Rp 1.5 million for her meals for five months, which
was considered a debt.

During her stay on the industrial island, Tas had once tried
to escape but was detected. She was eventually forced to become a
sex worker for six weeks and had been booked by guests of the bar
on at least 13 occasions.

A guest pays Rp 280,000 for a single booking -- Rp 80,000 of
which would go for the taxi fare, Rp 100,000 for her pimp and Rp
100,000 for herself (in the form of a voucher that could only be
cashed upon completion of her contract).

On July 31, 2004, a social worker with an non-governmental
organization managed to sneak her out of the parlor by booking
her and then took her to Barelang Police Station.

Tas later flew to Yogyakarta on Aug. 12. From there, she
returned home to Banjarnegara, accompanied by activists of the
Anak Merdeka Indonesia Foundation (SAMIN).

The foundation later reported Tas' case to Banjarnegara Police
on Aug. 20. Three other NGOs -- the Setara Semarang Foundation,
the Yogyakarta Women's Joint Secretariat and Yogyakarta's
Indonesian Women's Coalition helped in the case.

"Eka was immediately arrested by the Banjarnegara Police that
night on charges of child trafficking. However according to the
police, Parwati has fled to Malaysia," said Buyung Ridwan
Tanjung, a lawyer representing Tas.

The plight of Tas highlights similar cases of child
trafficking, which is widespread across Indonesia rated the
world's third worst country in its commitment against women and
child trafficking.

An estimated population of 230,000 women and child sex workers
were trafficked throughout the country. Data from the United
Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) shows there were some 70,000
children were involved in the commercial sex industry, some 30
percent of them below 18 years of age.