Legal Status
Prostitution is interpreted as a "crime against decency/morality" and against the law. In practice prostitution is widespread, tolerated and regulated. Prostitution is most visibly manifested in Indonesia’s brothel complexes, or lokalisasi, which are found throughout the country. These brothels are managed under local government regulations. During or after raids by the police, the prostitutes are able to pay and be released from custody; this has led to police raids being called "nothing more than an income source for public order officers".
UNICEF estimates that 30 percent of the female prostitutes in Indonesia are below 18 years of age. The ILO puts the total number of child prostitutes in Jakarta at 5,000; according to the Jakarta city government, this is concentrated in Prumpung (North Jakarta), Grogol (West Jakarta) Tanah Abang (Central Jakarta), Block M (South Jakarta), as well as Jatinegara and Ciracas (both East Jakarta). Child sex tourism is a problem, especially on the resort islands of Bali and Batam.
Read more about this topic: Prostitution In Indonesia
Famous quotes containing the words legal and/or status:
“The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“The influx of women into paid work and her increased power raise a woman’s aspirations and hopes for equal treatment at home. Her lower wage and status at work and the threat of divorce reduce what she presses for and actually expects.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)