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number of sex workers have opted to venture into new territory for transactions, and are now in favor of the planned closure of the Dolly red-light district in Surabaya, East Java.

Nia, 28, said many of her colleagues had avoided the complex and had sought other venues in order to avoid frequent police raids in the Dolly area.

“Besides working in beauty salons and karaoke parlors, some of my friends receive orders by phone and conduct business in hotels. Others remaining in Dolly are still under contract with their pimps,” Nia told The Jakarta Post.

Local authorities have planned to install CCTV to deter newcomers as part of a plan to completely shut the complex down.

Data at the Surabaya Social Affairs Office showed that this year the number of sex workers and pimps in Dolly and Jl. Jarak stood at around 1,200; a slight decline from an estimated 1,300 people last year. The number of brothels in Dolly stands at around at 400 and the average age of sex workers is between 18 and 30 years old.

According to Nia, sexual transactions conducted outside the red-light district were simply in response to a market trend because clients currently prefer to reserve a hotel room far removed from the bustling complex.

“I am in favor of closing Dolly because soliciting clients outside the red-light district is more profitable, especially because our earnings are not taxed by pimps and brothel owners,” she said.

Surabaya Communications and Information Office head Chalid Buhari explained the city’s plan to close Dolly in gradual stages.

“CCTVs will be set up in the area and will be directly monitored by police and local district officers on an around the clock basis,” he said.

Chalid added the CCTVs were not only aimed at reducing the number of sex workers, but also the number of customers. “The CCTV recordings will be shown publicly so the public can recognize sex workers and their guests,” Chalid said.

The deterrent factor might force sex workers and their clients to think twice, he added.