Indramayu, supplier of sex workers

Indramayu, supplier of sex workers

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Indramayu

Many prostitutes in big cities like Jakarta originate from
Indramayu regency, West Java. This has given the area the
notorious reputation as being the main supplier of sex workers to
not only Jakarta, but also far away cities like Batam.

Many of those prostitutes are even sent abroad under the
pretense of being migrant workers.

Indramayu's police and administrative chiefs admit that
several places in the region indeed operate like hothouses for
sex workers, many of whom operate in major cities in Java.

Indramayu Police chief Adj. Chief Comr. Setyo Wasisto said he
had heard rumors about the trafficking of Indramayu women.

"However, we have yet to receive complaints from local women
sold abroad as sex workers," Setyo told The Jakarta Post.

He noted that even if police could uncover the sex trade, they
could do very little because the crime was not covered in the
prevailing criminal code. The most police can do is take the case
before the courts as fraud, he said.

Concurring with Setyo, Indramayu Regent Irianto MS Syaifudin
added that the regency administration had made some efforts to
minimize the impact of the sex trade in his area by fostering the
"good morality of the community" and increasing job
opportunities.

"Rampant growth of the sex trade is mainly the result of a
lack of employment opportunities in the regency," he said.

Meanwhile, Indramayu legislative council speaker Iwan Hedrawan
admitted that many women from these regions earned a living as
sex workers in major cities and returned home for the post-
fasting Lebaran celebrations. Most of them usually pretend to be
decent people, he said.

"In some places, a few of them are open about their job and
even feel proud of being able to support their families
financially," Iwan noted.

Poor education may be the reason why many people resort to the
sex trade as an easy way to earn money.

Indramayu education and culture sub-service head Herutoko said
that Indramayu was the worst regency in West Java in terms of
education, mainly because the regency had a disastrous shortage
of teachers.

Worse still, he added, many families in the regency still did
not realize the importance of education for their children.

In this context, Ujang Syaiful Rahman, from a consortium of
Indramayu non-governmental organizations, said that their
observations indicated that many families, prompted by their poor
economic condition, continued to make women their cash cows.

Another reason for women entering the sex trade, Ujang said,
is the fact that many husbands in Indramayu violate their
marriage vows, a reason for the high divorce rate.

Indramayu, as disclosed by head of the regency's religious
court, Yahya Kaherudin, tops the list for divorces in West Java.

The court heard close to 5,000 divorce cases in 1999 and 2000,
and over 3,000 divorce cases between January and September this
year.

These divorces have taken place for a variety of reasons,
including arranged marriages, polygamy, infidelity and
disharmony.

Because most divorces victimize women more than men, these
divorced, unemployed women have become the prey of sex traders,
eventually ending up becoming prostitutes in many major cities
across the country.