Prostitution in Indonesia

Young women are offered employment opportunities in major cities, then raped and forced to prostitute themselves while paying money to their pimps.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) reports that roughly 70 percent of Indonesian child prostitutes are brought into the trade by their family or friends.

The last large red-light district containing many brothels was Gang Dolly in Surabaya, one of the largest in Southeast Asia,[10] which closed in 2014.

[18] The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) estimates that 30 percent of the prostitutes in Indonesia are below 18 years of age.

[22]: 119 Little is known about precolonial Indonesia's prostitution, although the purchase of sex slaves and "quasi-contractual" sexual relations are thought to have occurred.

[24] Serat Centhini, an early 19th century Javanese manuscript, refers to the prostitution business in Central Java and Yogyakarta.

The manuscript describes various sexual positions and techniques mastered by prostitutes in Java in order to satisfy their clients.

[25] During the early Dutch colonial period, European men wishing to find sexual gratification began hiring native prostitutes or concubines; this was accepted by financially motivated local women as well as some families, who volunteered their daughters.

[24] Widespread prostitution began in the early 1800s, when the number of concubines kept by the Royal Netherlands East Indies soldiers and government officials declined; native men leaving their wives to look for work in other areas also contributed to its rise.

Enforcement of these laws proved more nearly impossible, and for a period of time investigation of brothels required a permit from the governor.

After World War II, the migration of women from remote villages to cities, coupled with a high divorce rate, caused another increase in prostitution.

[7] Indonesia is a major source, and to a much lesser extent, destination and transit country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking.

Victims are often recruited with offers of jobs in restaurants, factories, or domestic service, but are subjected to sex trafficking.

Women and girls are subjected to sex trafficking near mining operations in Maluku, Papua, and Jambi provinces.