Re-framing Prostitution in Indonesia: A Critical Systemic Approach

Abstract

This study applies critical systems thinking as a process to respond to and offer recommendations to address prostitution policy in Indonesia. The article addresses social, economic and environmental aspects of prostitution. The analysis centres on the way in which prostitution is framed by the different interest groups in Indonesia, and highlights the current crisis in policy-making praxis in Indonesia. The article develops a case for systemic policy praxis, and aims to: (1) Make a case for re-framing the issue of prostitution in the sense that it addresses the 'capabilities' prostituted women and children ought to have (see Sen in Development as freedom, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1999 and Nussbaum in Women and human development: the capabilities approach, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2000). (2) Re-frame the policy response to prostitution to address life chances and human dignity. (3) Assert that the lack of attention to a just and fair human rights for all is due to a policy-making gap where 'systemic intervention' is required to restore human dignity.

Dampak Sosial dan Ekonomi Keberadaan Pekerja Seks Komersial (PSK) Café Mana di Kabupaten Lahat

“…Selain itu, lingkungan desa sekarang lebih dikenal dan dianggap sebagai "daerah mesum" karena keberadaan PSK di Café X tersebut. Hal inilah yang membuat masyarakat menjadi resah dengan adanya PSK di lingkungan mereka (Riswanda et al, 2016).…”

“…Desa ini merupakan tempat berdirinya warung remang-remang tempat bertemunya pengunjung dan PSK. Tempat ini biasanya disebut dengan Café Mana (nama samaran) yang terdiri dari warung-warung malam tempat berkumpulnya para PSK yang mencari pelanggan (Riswanda, Corcoran-Nantes, & McIntyre-Mills, 2016). Café Mana ini mulai berdiri pada awal 1992 dimana yang pertama kali mendirikan warung tersebut yaitu seorang warga dan menamai warungnya dengan nama Café Mana, sehingga lokasi warung tersebut terkenal dengan nama Café Mana.…”

Indonesia’s anti-extramarital sex legislation: why and how should policymakers respond to prostitution

“…The prevalence of sex tourism, (child) prostitution, (child) sex trafficking and (child) pornography, compared to Thailand and Cambodia, is lower in Indonesia (Elias and Holliday, 2019). However, in Indonesian contexts, because of the controversies the discourse on the construction of prostitution and the application of interventions in alleviating sex work practices is of substantial scholarly significance (Riswanda et al, 2016). Indonesia has been recognised as the world's largest Muslim country.…”