Instead of finding a child-friendly place to play as administered by the declaration, we saw children roaming freely in the prostitution area. Sparkling colorful lights and music seemed to be a part of their daily life.
By
Kompas Team
·6 minutes read
ARSIP KOMPAS
A signboard declaring the Integrated Child-Friendly Village is installed in front of an alley in RW 13 Kampung Rawa Bebek, Penjaringan Village, Penjaringan District, North Jakarta on Sunday (29/1/2023). Inside the alley is the Gang Royal prostitution area which is known to have employed children.
It was almost midnight on Sunday (15/1/2023). The beat of disco music was heard blaring loudly as we approached the mouth of an alley near Community Unit (RW) 013, Penjaringan neighborhood, Rawa Bebek, North Jakarta. Sparkling colorful lights were shining brightly.
We were silent for a moment before moving closer and strolling inside along the 1.5-meter wide alley, known as Gang (alley) Royal. The narrow passage is about 100 meters long, girls being seated almost in a row on wooden benches. Most were dressed up in tight clothes to attract visitors or clients.
They displayed themselves in front of the cafes with twinkling disco lights and loud music. Most of the cafes were more like coffee shops, plywood-walled and tin-roofed, with wooden benches. Unlike those in open public space, these cafes serve beer in complement to bottled drinks.
Let's pick one up, boss, just 170 [thousand rupiah] for play time. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Several young men were on standby. Some swiftly embraced the passing visitors. "Let's pick one up, boss, just 170 [thousand rupiah] for play time. Satisfaction guaranteed,” one of them said in a whisper while pointing at the girls sitting next to him.
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As we stepped away and looked around another cafe, a man approached us with the same offer. "Come on, boss, 170, and there you are on your way," the long-haired man solicited.
In every cafe, or a brothel house to be more exact, there was a man acting as a pander who helped find a client for the services of commercial sex. A visitor who seemingly found the offer too interesting to reject was seen trudging into one of the cafes holding the hand of his chosen escort.
Teenage faces
Some night service providers could not conceal their young age even though their faces were covered with thick make-up. However, queries about age proved difficult to find the truth.
“No one is under 18 years old. Otherwise, they would not be allowed to be here," one of the panders said as we had a chat.
One of the girls we spoke to, DI, said she was 20. Her face betrayed her claim. Every time she felt she was being gazed at suspiciously or being scrutinized, she would turn her face away. Her body gesture exposed her shyness. The way she spoke gave away that she was a teenager.
The Gang Royal red light district has been raided by the police several times with it being found employing teenagers in prostitution services. Having gone through such events make the “mami,” an affectionate attribution to the pimps, extra cautious.
In early 2020, a team from the Jakarta Metro Police raided Khayangan Café at Gang Royal, which was allegedly offering child prostitution services. It led to the arrest of six suspects, two of whom were pimps. It employed at least 10 underaged sex workers.
NT (19), one of the victims of human trafficking in Rawa Bebek, said her “mami” warned her not to give out her true age to visitors. She was only 16 then. However, she posed as a 20-year-old.
“Mami said, if someone asks you your age, don't tell them your real age. Say you’re 20 and over. I answered, yes, yes. I was afraid," NT said when she was visited in Subang, West Java, in January.
ARSIP KOMPAS
The night atmosphere at a cafe in Gang Royal, Rawa Bebek, North Jakarta, Monday (1/16/2023) early morning. Along this alley lined the cafes that are the location of prostitution at night.
She said other sex workers of her age had no choice but to obey whatever the pimps told them to, fearing their safety.
She said she was allowed to go out only when she needed to buy supplies for her daily needs. Even then, she had to be accompanied by security men.
She said fellow teenagers having worked longer than her used to serve 12 clients in one night. Refusing to serve would mean being the target of tantrums or pay cuts. She said she was lucky to have been there only four days before the police raided the place.
Undetectable
The employment of underage sex workers at Gang Royal has been almost unheard of by people until the raids. Being located in a narrow alley, it is hard to detect.
During day time, Gang Royal looks dark. The cafes are so close to each other that sunlight can hardly creep in.
This also seems to make Gang Royal a sound-resistant area. Music from inside the cafes can only be heard from a radius of about 10 meters. As we move away from Jl. Rawa Bebek Selatan, the sound of music becomes inaudible within 20 meters.
The cafes are a semi-permanent set-up with the area being around 37 square meters. On the top floor there are cubicles for services.
The cafe's doors and windows are left open all night, allowing anyone to enter. That night, a number of hawkers were seen going in and out of the cafe. Several men with caps and sarongs also walked around carrying charity boxes.
We were approached several times by child beggars. They were about 10 years old. They asked for money from some men who enjoyed dancing with the girls.
Ironically, at the entrance to the alley, there was a sign measuring 2.5x1.5 meters which read “Deklarasi Kampung Terpadu Ramah Anak Menuju Kota Jakarta Ramah Anak RW 13 Penjaringan.” It gives a message about local authorities declaring Penjaringan as an integrated, child-friendly neighborhood in support of Jakarta’s child-friendly environmental program. The declaration dates back to Aug. 13, 2017. This means that it has been more than five years since this declaration was announced.
Instead of finding a child-friendly place to play as administered by the declaration, we saw children roaming freely in the prostitution area. Sparkling colorful lights and disco music seemed to be a part of their daily life.
Penjaringan subdistrict head Depika Romadi said the formation of a child-friendly village in RW 013 aimed to direct children to positive activities, considering that children were at risk of the Gang Royal brothel.
"The point is, even though there is prostitution, children have other activities that they can focus on, according to their needs," said Depika. (FRD/JOG/DIV/ILO)
