B

ali is one of several hot spots for the trade in child prostitution in Indonesia, according to an international organization fighting the sexual exploitation of children.

“Bali, Lombok, Jakarta, Bandung, Manado, Batam and Yogyakarta are the preferred destinations for perpetrators who sexually exploit children. These are the places they visit to get the children,” Ahmad Sofian, national coordinating of End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), said over the weekend.

Around 70,000 children a year from different parts of the nation have been sexually exploited since 2003, according to ECPAT.

The children were trafficked to top tourist destinations, including Bali, where the demand for child prostitutes has steadily risen, ECPAT said.

“The sexual exploitation of children is quite rampant in tourist areas, including Bali, because there is a growing demand for it. To meet that demand, tourist areas recruit children and offer them to the perpetrators. The children are recruited locally or are sourced from other places using various methods,” he said.

Sofian said there were many pubs, nightclubs, karaoke bars and brothels that recruited children as their workers and main attractions.

“They do that for the sake of getting as many patrons and as much profit as possible. This is a terrifying situation,” he said.

The problem was difficult to eradicate because many people were benefiting from exploiting children.

“The tourism sector is not the only one that makes a profit from exploitation. The informal sector, transportation, accommodation, street thugs, and local residents, are all getting a piece of the action. If we stop this exploitation, they will all suffer economic losses. Yet, the important question is whether we have the heart to continue exploiting our children solely for material pleasure?”

Another factor hampering the fight against trafficking was lackluster law enforcement, according to ECPAT. In some instances, law enforcement officers turned a blind eye to the industry because they were paid off by the criminals.

“The government’s commitment has yet to materialize into concrete action. The government probably views this as a small problem. After all, 70,000 children is a small number compared to the country’s total population,” he said on the sidelines of a regional seminar on child sexual exploitation attended by law enforcement officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Timor Leste, France and the US.

He said children in rural and impoverished regions should be educated about sexual exploitation and victims should be offered medical and mental health treatment.