Raids on street walkers

Raids on street walkers

Raids on women suspected of being street walkers in Bogor have provoked criticism, with several people strongly protesting the Bogor administration's incompetence for netting the wrong persons last week.

The women were just taking a stroll when several officers apprehended them, despite the fact that they had ID cards. They were then rushed to a rehabilitation center in the neighboring town of Sukabumi.

Secretary of the Agency for People's Empowerment and Social Affairs Baringin Sipayung has, however, denied all the women's statements, arguing that his men were very experienced in "detecting" sex workers. Therefore, it was impossible that the officers arrested the wrong women, Sipayung claimed.

It is not easy to prove who is right, but, usually the authorities "can do no wrong". Common people, who have no bargaining power, have usually been victimized, even though they have done nothing against the law.

In general, people support the raids on street workers, but, the implementation must be extra careful so as not to violate the public interest by arresting the wrong people.

There is no single law prohibiting women from taking a walk at night in public places in this country. Women walking outdoors at night could be considered strange, but this is not against the law, if they bring ID cards with them.

Valid ID cards legitimize people's existence in the country. Therefore, women walking at night without ID cards could be arrested and treated like street workers by officers.

In this particular case, the officers should have been more careful and wiser.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta