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.