NGO tries to get sex workers to help themselves

By Ivy Susanti

JAKARTA (JP): The oldest profession in the world will continue to exist as long as the demand prevails. however, low education has also added to the number of people offering their bodies for others' sexual pleasure to earn a living.

The sex industry has long been associated with immorality and, rightly or wrongly, the source of plagues, including HIV/AIDS. The nation's crisis has increasingly added to the attitudes that foster this business.

Firman Lubis, chairman of Yayasan Kusuma Buana, a foundation focusing on health, shared his experiences with The Jakarta Post of nearly two decades of working with prostitutes, particularly in the Kramat Tunggak complex in North Jakarta. Excerpts:

Question: From your observations, has the number of prostitutes increased during this crisis? How do they operate?

Answer: Yes, they have. The new prostitutes mainly come from certain regions, such as Indramayu in West Java. They head to the capital in search of megabucks, concentrating on localized brothels such as Kramat Tunggak in North Jakarta. They arrive here with the help of their friends.

The newcomers are usually relatively young, about 15 to 17 years old. Here, they are accommodated and also organized by pimps. They usually work at massage parlors, bars or night clubs.

I reckon up to 10 women come from the villages each day. I guess there are more than a hundred newcomers a month. Kramat Tunggak alone receives some 50 to 100 newcomers a month. Last year, it would only receive 20 newcomers a month.

Q: How about these prostitutes' income? Has it decreased?

A: Absolutely. The competition has become really tight nowadays, at the same time as the number of customers has dropped due to the crisis. The sex workers use various methods to outdo the competition, including trying "better" techniques of seduction or service.

Returning to their villages is no way out. There is nothing there for them that could generate an income. So they instead try to survive in the city, living on a very limited budget.

Q: City authorities have repeatedly pledged to phase out red-light districts to eliminate prostitution. What do you think?

A: Will the profession fade away if they adopt such an attitude? The most likely scenario is that the prostitutes will spill over onto the streets, schools and places famous for lawlessness, such as Bongkaran district in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

In such places, prostitutes would be financially exploited and might well resort to crime.

The government should build more "rehabilitation complexes" to control prostitution. We are dealing with a very basic problem, the economy. Most of us reject prostitution. But to close down the complex would not wipe out the business.

We have to help the sex workers so they can support themselves by getting a better job or to add their skills. In today's situation, the government should encourage them to save their income, as a guarantee for a better future.

I think such a step is better than exploiting prostitutes by taking taxes or levies for security or sanitation. The government should encourage them to use condoms to prevent sexual transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS, and check their health.

Firman Lubis established the Kusuma Buana Foundation in 1979. It was aimed at strengthening the private sector's role in family planning, primary health care and community development through providing clinical services, and research and development of health education materials.

He added: "The government cannot possibly, in any effective way, handle all the health problems in Indonesia. It's better for the public to educate themselves, so they can manage their own problems, whether they be social, health or education. We believe that the public should actively participate in social, family planning and reproductive health. It was this that motivated me to set up the foundation.

We wished to empower society, particularly those from the lower class. So we gave them information.

"It's the same with prostitution. Sex workers need education. We help them increase their knowledge and awareness so they can protect themselves from the danger of diseases. If they understand this, they can prevent the diseases from infecting their customers."

Q: Why did the foundation decide to focus on prostitution?

A: Because HIV/AIDS can spread through sexual relationships. So we felt a responsibility to educate sex workers so they could also take part in preventing infection (of themselves and the clients). They had the right to do so.

When we started our campaign years ago at Kramat Tunggak, they seemed oblivious to the diseases. They were not afraid of HIV/AIDS. Death no longer terrified them. They were not motivated to take care of their own health. They were apathetic.

We tried to develop their self-esteem. We told them that they should maintain hope for better future so they could lead a new life. Such confidence would encourage them to solve their own problems.

People who appreciate themselves do not want to get sick. So we start with the prostitutes.

Q: Has the government done enough to rehabilitate prostitutes?

A: The prostitutes need support, friends and counselors. Institutions like the ministries of health and social affairs have not been able to fulfill this function ... So the government should use NGOs, which are motivated to undertake such missions, to handle this project. It would be impossible for the government to take care of everything.

Q: How much money does the foundation require annually?

A: We need Rp 200 million to Rp 300 million annually to pay for our staff, transportation fees and information materials.

Two years ago we obtained Rp 700 to Rp 800 million for three years from the World Bank to cover the approximately 25,000 prostitutes officially recorded throughout Jakarta. We also try to find undocumented sex workers.

Q: Do you face any obstacles regarding the project?

A: Yes, mainly regarding officials' attitudes toward the prostitutes. The government admits their existence but does not want to be directly involved in rehabilitation. It just closes brothels or arrests the prostitutes. Such treatment will not solve the whole problem.

There were reports that the arrested prostitutes were often asked to sleep with the officials. I think that's inhumane. It wasn't their initial intention to become sex workers, anyway.

Thus far we have not received the help we needed from the government. There have not been any official guidelines on prostitution. The government should be clear on whether it intends to help rehabilitate prostitutes. It has to use an educative approach, through empowerment.

Other obstacles concern human resources and funding.

We are financially supported to educate sex workers and we encourage them to earn their own income to help them become independent.

This project would have a greater impact if the government were not too restrictive in its licensing and matters regarding funding. The government could use the money from taxes and levies in brothels to educate sex workers, and not save the funds for their own interests.

Q: Who funds this project?

A: We involve international bodies, such as Family Health International from the United States. They had a project called HAPP (HIV/AIDS Prevention Project). They distribute the funds through the Ministry of Health. We also cooperate with local NGOs. We have set up a joint forum to exchange our experiences.

The government also contributes to this project, such as by distributing free condoms, but its efforts have not been optimal. They still feel insecure by taking part. They are afraid of being blamed by society.