Meanwhile, outside of Surabaya, a similar balloon effect has been taking place on a national scale. Although it is difficult to say exactly how many sex workers have fled Surabaya since the shutdown, estimations can be made based on recent media coverage and police figures. Nobody knew. MORE: A new enemy within? Surabaya sex workers go underground.
Although it is impossible to say with any certainty exactly how many prostitutes in Malang have migrated from Dolly, approximations can be made based on existing government data. Prostitution is even more rife than before, and the situation is distorted by sex workers taking up aliases in fear of arrest and forced relocation. Efforts to detect and reduce new HIV transmissions have also been undermined by the increased threat of prosecution, as the continued criminalisation of sex work puts up unnecessary barriers between vulnerable individuals involved in the trade and potentially lifesaving public health services.
All things considered, surely it would be totally counterintuitive for Malang to adopt the very same zero tolerance approach that failed miserably for Risma in Surabaya? Stay tuned to this blog to see how that operation pans out.
Indonesia struggles to accommodate exodus of Surabaya sex workers. Share this on. Read Full Article. Plastic waste. Sri Lanka election.
