They play it unsafe in Surakarta

They play it unsafe in Surakarta

Surakarta, Central Java (JP): Health Warning: The Silir red light
district is a health hazard because 93 percent of its customers
do not wear condoms.

This was the advice of doctor Guntur Hermawan, a medical
expert at Solo's Sebelas Maret University, when he presented the
findings of his recent research on prostitution yesterday.

Guntur said virtually none of the women who live in the houses
of ill repute are aware of the importance of condom use, despite
repeated encouragement from the local government.

"The prostitutes just don't care about having their customers
wear condoms even though many of them do know about the danger of
the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which is easily
spread in brothels," he said.

Silir has an official permit to operate in this ancient city,
which is one of Java's major tourist destinations.

Guntur said only five percent of the prostitutes in the
brothel claimed complete ignorance of the deadly AIDS.

Local information campaigns about safe sex have been inspired
by the experience in Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong regarding
the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, he added.
(har/pan)