Jakarta brothels

Despite the fact that body trafficking is illegal in Indonesia and is considered a "crime against morality", it is tolerated here. From time to time, police raids are carried out, which are fraught with local night butterflies, except for small fines. This is probably also why prostitution is practiced so widely in Indonesia, and besides, it is one of the reasons for the country's tourist attraction: many lovers of sex tourism come here to enjoy young bodies for a few dollars. UNICEF estimates that about 30% of Indonesian prostitutes are underage, under the age of 18.

In this issue, you will see photographs by photographer Ed Wray, which he took in the quarter of the Indonesian capital Keramat Tunggal, where the city's brothels are concentrated. Brothels are located here just a few meters from a busy railway track.

(Total 16 photos)

1. Jakarta brothel zone, August 27, 2013. The zone is located a few meters from a busy railway track.

2. In Jakarta, prostitutes work in nightclubs, massage centers, and, of course, brothels.

3. It is not uncommon for there to be up to 200 prostitutes in brothels. They work in appallingly unhygienic conditions where hygiene is neglected.

4. Indonesia is one of the few countries where the number of HIV cases is growing rapidly. Over the past ten years, the number of such cases has increased by 25%.

5. Formally, prostitution is prohibited in Indonesia.

6. But it's not a secret for anyone that in certain places under neon signs "Venus", "Mo'na Lisa" and so on, "massage", "saunas", "beauty salons" and other establishments where they sell body.

7. All residents of Jakarta know the Keramat-Tunggal quarter located five kilometers from the seaport, where about three thousand women earn their bitter bread, where fights and stabbings happen every night, where people disappear without a trace, where stolen goods come true, where many drug addicts meet.

8. In January 1981, the municipality, taking care of the international reputation of the capital, tried to eliminate all the bad places in the center, at least transfer them to the outskirts. "Night butterflies" staged a demonstration outside the parliament building. Their leader, Susie, read a protest petition through a bullhorn, which read, in part: "We, who are in the thousands and have to be fed by tens of thousands of mouths, are in danger of starvation." Despite the pathos, the phrase correctly exposed the social nature of vice. Unemployment drives girls to the panel.

9. Prostitution today is common throughout almost the entire territory of Indonesia.

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11. Inside the brothel.

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