When moral judgment should be withheld

Passing judgment is part of human nature. To different degrees we all do it, but...

Yati is 22 years old. She has been working as a shop assistant for the past two years. The weekends are a different story. Her Australian boyfriend left her as a single parent. She needs more money. On Friday night she wears a tight red dress and heavier make-up and heads to her usual bar.

Debby is only 19. Her childish looks contrasts with her sensual dancing. She is the eldest of five. Her father lost his job in 1998 and ever since she has been the family breadwinner.

Heloise divorced two years ago. She was only 16. It wasn't her choice as neither was her marriage. Her parents arranged it all. She left her village in West Java and now lives in Jakarta. Her only asset is a beautiful body.

In these cases moral judgment should be withheld.

In Indonesia prostitution is a social phenomenon based on a lack of choices. It's part of the local culture with its roots in the colonial past and before.

The cultural origin of the phenomenon can be traced back to the time of the Javanese kingdoms when women were treated as a commodity. Very little has changed since. At that time impoverished parents used to offer their daughters to the king in exchange for payment.

Today in some parts of the country girls are leased to brothels for a while or "sold" in arranged marriages. Back then, like now, the idea of girls being bought and sold was very much alive.

The legal framework of the sex industry, as we know it, dates back to colonial times.

In 1852, the Dutch introduced a law recognizing prostitution. In those days they were defined as "public women" while today they are wanita tuna susila, a euphemism for sex workers.

It is important to note that tuna susila which literally means a lack of morals as in tuna netra (lacking sight) or tuna wisma (homeless). This illustrates an ambivalent social attitude -- where a high level of tolerance is present even if real acceptance is a far cry away.

The Dutch introduced the morality law in 1913 banning pimps but nothing else. Things haven't changed. Today, prostitution is neither legal nor illegal. Articles 296 and 506 condemn pimps, while article 297 condemns the trade of males or females under age.

With a fertile cultural environment and a permissive legal system, prostitution in the last 40 years has developed at an alarming rate. While accurate statistics are impossible to obtain, according to a study carried out by the International Labor Organization in Indonesia, and in the neighboring Southeast Asian countries, the sex industry is generating millions of dollars, contributing anything from 2 percent up to 14 percent of the gross national product.

Reasons for its latest boom can be traced to the social division between men and women, and in the way Indonesia has developed economically.

Socially, women are still considered second-class citizens. Inequality in income distribution, job and education opportunities, limits their choices and their role in the work place.

For example, 90 percent of workers in the textile, garment, tobacco and electronics industries are young females but the wages they receive are often not enough to cover their own expenses never mind support their families. Invariably some workers are forced to enter the sex industry.

The wider economic picture has had the biggest impact on the industry. Since the 1970's, Indonesia has undergone a transformation from being primarily an agricultural country toward an industrialized one. The need for unskilled labor has shrunk considerably. Women have suffered the most.

More and more young girls from inland villages have been forced to try their luck in the big cities. Competition for the few available jobs is very fierce. Poorly educated and inexperienced village girls have very little chance of succeeding. Inevitably, very shortly, the only viable means of earning an income is by selling their bodies.

But economics is (almost) an exact science. In a country with 220 million people, the supply side of the industry is not an issue. To complete this vicious puzzle, the demand has been also constantly increasing.

Indonesia is generally becoming richer, so local men have more disposable income to spend. Also tourists are coming in greater numbers, and undoubtedly one of the beckoning lights to these shores is the sex trade.

The future for Yati, Debby, Heloise and others looks gloom. But one thing is certain: As things stand, it is not their fault.

-- Fabio Scarpello