Amir Tejo, Surabaya – The Surabaya city administration's plan to close down the Klakah Rejo red light district in the western suburbs has raised concerns among social activists who have been working closely with sex workers in the area.
Head of the Klakah Rejo red light district working group Sudarsono said the plan, although it is yet to be made official, has already impacted on the workers.
"Since the news broke that the district will be closed, sex workers have stopped going for medical check ups. Anyway, even when they close the district down the girls can still get sexually transmitted diseases," said Sudarsono, who helps women get medical checkups at the Sememi Puskesmas (community health center).
"It's difficult to rely on the sex workers to be willing to go for checkups on their own. They have to be persuaded to agree to being checked by being assisted there, although the clinic is not too far from their housing," he said. Sudarsono is concerned that shutting down the district will undermine his HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.
While the administration expects the women will pack up and go home, Sudarsono thinks the workers will move to a new location, citing the aftermath of the closure of the Dupak Bangunsari red light district last December.
"Many sex workers from Dupak Bangunsari simply relocated to the area surrounding the Kali Porong embankment," said Hari Tsabit from the Surabaya Genta Institution, which provides assistance for sex workers to prevent HIV/AIDS.
As part of the city's plan to close the Klakah Rejo district, each of the 215 workers in the area will receive Rp 3 million ($281) in aid and a further Rp 1.45 million to cover living expenses for one month.
The Ministry of Social Affairs has targeted 21 red light districts in East Java for closure by this year: 11 in Banyuwangi, seven in Malang and three in Surabaya.
Indonesia's incidence of HIV infection increased by more than 25 percent in adults aged 15 to 49 from 2001 to 2011, according to the UNAIDS 2012 Global Report. While only 0.3 percent of the population suffers from HIV, the prevalence rate is almost 9 percent for sex workers.