[Stop-traffic] 15,000 child sex workers in Riau/News Jakarta Post

[yuyun]

article in today's (10 June 04) Jakarta Post.


15,000 child sex workers in Riau

Fadli, Batam

A non-governmental organization (NGO) activist disclosed on Wednesday 
that
some 15,000 girls under the age of 18 on the Riau Islands were sex 
workers.

The number was half of the total of 30,000 sex workers operating on the
islands, raising concern that child trafficking could be widespread, 
said
Lola Shirin T. Wagner, the chairwoman of the Batam-based Humanity and
Health Partner Foundation (YMKK).

"Some 30 to 60 percent of the sex workers operating in Batam, Tanjung
Pinang and Tanjung Balai Karimun are children," said Lola at a seminar 
on
child prostitution in Batam.

The three cities in question are major cities on Riau Islands.

Also present at the one day seminar was Seto Mulyadi, the chairman of 
the
National Commission for Children's Protection.
According to Lola, the number of child prostitutes in Batam is high 
when
compared to the national figure. There are some 150,000 sex workers
operating nationwide currently, 40,000 of whom are children.

Lola explained that the high number of child prostitutes on the islands 
was
due to the growing sex industry here. Many foreigners, such as 
Malaysians
and Singaporeans, spent their weekends on the islands, and many of them
visited purely for commercial sex, she said.

The high demand for commercial sex had led to the development of the
industry. Local girls saw prostitution as a quick and easy way to make
money, and irresponsible parties exploited children, Lola said.

Lola said there were two facets of the industry on the islands: First, 
a
syndicate "bought" the children from within the islands, or from Java
island and sold them to local pimps. And second, the syndicate supplied
male teenagers or children to pedophiles.

In order to end the practice, Lola demanded that the government take 
stern
measures. She called on all parties on the islands, including bell 
boys,
tour guides and security personnel to help stop child prostitution. 
"They
should not give tourists seeking sex with children information, 
including
the whereabouts of child sex workers in the city," she



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Yuyun Wahyuningrum
Coordinator
Southeat Asia Anti-Trafficking Campaign
Terre des Hommes Netherlands Regional Office for Southeast Asia
JL. Terusan Hang Lekir I/14C Jakarta 12220, Indonesia 
Tel: (62 21) 722 0202, 723 3637 Fax (62 21) 739 3102
E-mail: yuyun at tdhasean.org or wahyuningrum73 at yahoo.com
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