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Prostitution and Human Rights in Indonesia: A Critical Systemic Review of Policy Discourses and Scenarios

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Abstract

This article considers policy making in practice focussing on case studies drawn from ethnographic research on prostitution in Indonesia carried out between 2012 and 2013 (this article is based on field research undertaken in Java, Indonesia, between November 2012 and 28 February 2013). Its theoretical underpinnings is that of ‘critical systemic heuristics’ which contends that policy making with respect to prostitution needs to take into account a range of factors and diverse views based on a process of ‘unfolding values’ and ‘sweeping in’ many variables before a decision is made. Applying ‘critical systemic approach’ or ‘critical heuristics’provides a means to test out the policy making ideas, as opposed to merely implementing the ideas of the powerful. The paper applies critical heuristic thinking to argue that the policy response ought to take into account the voices of those with a lived experience of poverty and prostitution, in order to protect their rights when making policy decisions.

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Notes

  1. Combining the critical ethnographic approach with case study, the attempt is expected to investigate the issue of prostitution within the bounded social systems of the Indonesian community surrounded by the uniqueness of different cases of differing lenses of policy providers on how a policy should respond to the issue.

  2. The research design, strategy and rationale for the research has been detailed in Riswanda et al. (2016, pp. 5–7).

  3. Ibid.

  4. See Women in National Parliaments; http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm [Consulted 28/09/2015].

  5. “Balai karya wanita-program rehabilitasi social”/.

  6. See Riswanda et al. (2016).

  7. According to Riswanda’s interview with Mrs BaikHati, approximately 70 % of young women living in rural and semi-urban areas in Indonesia get married while they are still at school and almost half are divorced a few years after.

  8. According to research by Riono (2008), most warias rely on prostitution for survival, as a result of their lack of education, older age, or experiencing social discrimination. Riono’s research conducted in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya indicates that 94 % of warias are involved in prostitution.

  9. ‘A “waria” is an Indonesian transsexual. [The term is] derived from the word “wanita” meaning woman and “pria” meaning man. Waria is known as Indonesia’s third sex. This century old tradition is largely accepted as part of Indonesian culture. However, it is one that does not sit easily with Islam since Islamic law acknowledges only two sexes, male and female See Brooks 2014, 01.53–02.54.

  10. From the lead author’s interview with “S”, a waria and former prostitute, who is now directing an NGO mainstreaming prostitutes’ rights in Bandung).

  11. In Riswanda’s interview with L (8 January 2013), a waria who is now a managing director of Srikandi Pasundan, a well-known NGO mainstreaming the rights of Indonesian transgender groups, spoke of the preconception that warias can only work in beauty salons, or else as singing beggars or prostitutes. This perception has shaped the government social programs that address the issues of the warias.

  12. According to Indonesian Interfaith Network on HIV and AIDS (INTERNA) cited in Martudji (2011, p. 2), the number of people with HIV/AIDS in the city is 5091, which is higher than Papua (4005 people) and Jakarta (3998 people).

  13. This is argued in detail in Systemic Governance and Accountability (McIntyre-Mills 2006a, b), and is based on the law of requisite variety.

  14. Enacted by the Indonesian government in the Criminal Code (KUHP-KitabUndang-UndangHukumPidana/Penal Code) articles 296, 297 and 506.

  15. Sharia is Islamic religious law that oversees religious customs and provides guidance of everyday life in Islam as to reflect Quran (Islamic sacred book) and Muhammad’s examples (Esposito 2003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Riswanda, Janet McIntyre-Mills & Yvonne Corcoran-Nantes

  2. University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Riswanda

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  1. Riswanda
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  2. Janet McIntyre-Mills
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  3. Yvonne Corcoran-Nantes
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Correspondence to Riswanda.

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Riswanda, McIntyre-Mills, J. & Corcoran-Nantes, Y. Prostitution and Human Rights in Indonesia: A Critical Systemic Review of Policy Discourses and Scenarios. Syst Pract Action Res 30, 213–237 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-016-9393-4

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