Precautions vital to fight sexual abuse of children

JAKARTA (JP): Sexual abuse of children in Indonesia has not reached the alarming levels of Thailand or the Philippines but it is important to take effective precautions to prevent it proliferating further.

Sexual exploitation of children can not be overcome solely by the government and other agencies because it requires the general awareness of the whole community. But how aware are people of this problem? Here are some comments:

Mulhim, a taxi driver for the Kosti company, admits he knows that child prostitution exists. As a taxi driver he has even encountered such practices.

"As far as I know it does exist, but you can't just see it because it isn't located in a specific area like Kramat Tunggak," he said.

While claiming ignorance on where child prostitutes might be found, he recounted an experience of driving a man to meet what he believes to be a child prostitute.

"I was once told to drive a man, about 35 years old, to a location where he met a young girl, probably about 14 or 15. I'm quite sure she wasn't his daughter or a relative," he said.

"If she was his daughter or relative we would normally read it in her face when she first met him, but this was different. And the man also kept looking around as he got out of the car and told me, if anyone asked, not to tell anybody where I took him," Mulhim said. He refused to say where he drove the man.

"This sort of thing needs to be dealt with. It's a shame, they're just kids," he said.

Dyah Indriantari, a housewife from Semarang, Central Java, says she also knows about commercial child sex.

"It usually happens in places where there are few educational facilities," she said.

As a mother she expressed deep concern on the problem saying that some young elementary school girls went to Jakarta and returned pregnant, adding that they often have to return to Jakarta as prostitutes.

"Unfortunately, often we can't find a way out. Some of them can be trained and better their lives, but for others its becomes a hobby," she said.

"Maybe if we had better educational facilities we could stop this kind of thing. Some small towns like Salatiga have educational facilities including a university," she said.

Tita NMS Putranto, an embassy public relations officer, admits she knows little about child prostitution.

"My little knowledge is mostly based on the information from my husband who works for an agency which deals with child laborers and street children," she explained.

"I first became aware of the existence of child prostitutes when I went with a friend to a bar at a five-star hotel two years ago. There, I saw young girls busily hunting for men like older "professional" women. The difference between them is that professional women put on very sexy clothes, while the young girls wore more decent-looking dresses," she recounted.

Her awareness was increased recently after viewing a recent television expose on so-called pekcum, short for perek cuma-cuma (free-sex girls).

"I was surprised that the girls interviewed didn't feel bad about what they did," she exclaimed.

"I feel really sorry for them. I think their free-sex behavior can lead them to prostitution some day," she commented.

Aprilisa Madewa, the public relations manager at Le Meridien Hotel, said she was disgusted by people who sexually exploited children.

"Child prostitution? It's inhumane. It's about the future of our children. If there are really people who manage such a business they have to be punished," she asserted.

"I think the reason (behind child prostitution) is a classic one: poverty. So the government should provide more facilities for the children who are not lucky enough to have an education," she said, adding that sparse education was also a reason for prostitution.

Aprilisa, who has a female foster-child, said the government- sponsored foster-parent drive is one of the best ways to reduce the number of child prostitutes.

Rushdie Ahmad, a civil servant, said his knowledge of child prostitution and exploitation comes from newspapers and magazines, adding that he did not know how acute the problem is.

"I don't know where they are or even why people would like to do it with children," he said.

"But these days children are fed better, so while still young they look physically older. It's hard to tell the difference between a girl who's 15 and another who's 21. But it still doesn't make it right though," he said.

Sylvie W, an insurance clerk, says she has never been directly exposed to the problem.

"I'm sure it exists but I don't know if there are that many," she said. "What I know is that people are more free these days, so we see very young girls having sex with their boyfriends for fun," she said.

"If they like doing that, is that prostitution too?" she asked. (team)