It may be difficult to rely on families to ensure that children are protected from trafficking. If so, it is also important to have a community support system.
By
Kompas Team
·5 minutes read
ARSIP KOMPAS
Victim of child trafficking, TA (16), is attending salon training at a safe house in Jakarta on Thursday (12/1/2023).
TA’s (16) wish to always have snacks while at school was relatively fulfilled because her mother gave her a pocket money of Rp 50,000 (US$3.23) every day. The teenager from Depok, West Java, never bothered her parents with requests that cost much money. She was even diligent in saving money.
TA’s mother works as an employee of a private company in Cikarang, Bekasi regency, West Java. Her stepfather owns a food stall. They are not a rich family, but their needs are met.
Even though at first glance TA's family situation could be considered ideal, that does not mean there is no possibility for TA to escape the child trafficking trap. In fact, the police uncovered an online prostitution circle where TA was a victim.
Was it a lack of support from her parents that made TA so determined to run away and become a sex worker? "Frankly, I've never asked for money or this or that. It's just that I want love,” TA said when met last January.
TA gave an example, she was always envious of her schoolmates who ate lunch box cooked by their mothers. She had never had a similar experience because her mother and father had left the house (for work) when she woke up.
In the midst of rare physical encounters, TA's parents try to carry out their role in educating their child with restrictive orders. TA's mother, in particular, forbade her from going out with friends.
Was it a lack of support from her parents that made TA so determined to run away and become a sex worker?
“After school, [I was only allowed to] eat, take a nap, wake up in the afternoon, pray, eat, study. There was no time to play,” TA recalled. Her mother said that girls should not wander anywhere.
TA even experienced a heart-wrenching punishment for coming home late. On one occasion when she was busy making props for the introduction to the school environment (MPLS), formerly known as the student orientation period (MOS), for returning home late at night, her father and mother drenched her body.
ARSIP KOMPAS
AL (17), an online prostitution broker from Bogor City, West Java, is undergoing mechanic training at a safe house in Jakarta, Thursday (12/1/2023).
Get out of the house
TA could not stand it anymore. She left the house and started working as a sex worker with the help of brokers and online applications to make ends meet. She had known the world of prostitution since she was in junior high school (SMP) as she had friends who had previously served “sugar daddies”.
Non-economic factors were also the first triggers for AL to become involved in prostitution. The 17-year-old young male became a jockey for sex workers who ask him to find guests, including for TA.
Indeed, AL changed professions because being a sex worker jockey was more "lucrative financially" than his previous job as a repair mechanic. He was paid Rp 1.8 million per month as a mechanic, while as a jockey he could earn at least Rp 100,000 per day or Rp 3 million per month. However, he admitted that if he could have lived peacefully with his aunt, he was sure he would not be trapped in the world of prostitution.
Since childhood, AL lived at his aunt's house in Bogor, West Java. "[She was] rude when talking. If she was really angry, she hit me," he said.
He often ran away from his aunt's house and went to stay with a friend. Then, in February 2022, he could no longer hold back and chose to leave. He left his education in the second grade of a vocational high school majoring in automotive repair and worked in a workshop as a means of subsistence.
At the time, a friend of AL invited him to visit in Depok. He shared that his friend had become a sex worker jockey using the Michat application. AL was taught to respond to messages from potential customers on the application and learned to make transaction deals. He was steadfast, even once becoming a “middleman” for his girlfriend who was also 17 years old.
‘Promoted to next grade’
Chairperson of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) Ai Maryati Solihah said that child trafficking could target children from various backgrounds, including children from relatively affluent families. In Ai's view, this phenomenon showed that parents must "level up" in parenting. There are at least three kinds of parenting styles, namely permissive parenting which allows all, authoritarian parenting which is all ordering and forbidding, then democratic parenting which combines the two.
In democratic parenting, parents do not relinquish control over children and prioritize dialogue so they want to listen to children's aspirations.
However, it may be difficult to rely on families to ensure that children are protected from trafficking, as in the case of AL. If so, according to sociologist at Airlangga University, Bagong Suyanto, it is also important to have a community support system.
"[We can] rely on community support. Religious teaching discussions [pengajian] groups, for example, can discuss theme on how to make parents more sensitive, who can be friendly with children," said Bagong. (JOG/DIV/FRD/ILO)
