(Reuters) — Bali, a paradise for holidaymakers is a living hell for local children who are at risk of being sexually harassed, activists warn, as they called for stricter law enforcement to protect the vulnerable amid booming tourism.
One 14-year-old, called “S” to protect her identity, learned her lesson the hard way.
She is one of the alleged victims in an ongoing trial in Indonesia, where prosecutors say Australian suspect Robert Andrew Fiddes Ellis molested at least 11 underage girls.
Ellis, who has been detained since January this year, faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. Bali police said they are still pursuing some suspects related to the case without disclosing their nationalities.
“I received clothes, but when he (the suspect) wanted to give me pills I said no,” said “S” who works as a porter in a local market.
“I am relieved,” said another alleged victim who goes with initial P. “Now I am free, no need to be picked up any more,”
One Bali-based activist says such cases are only the tip of the iceberg.
“The cases that I represented involve paedophiles and child molestation has not stopped since 2011. Therefore I am very upset, look at Bali now, it has become the paradise for paedophiles,” said Siti Sapurah, a lawyer and activist who works on mostly child-related cases in Bali.
“As I can see, Bali doesn’t pay a lot of attention to protecting local children. If we go around the island, we can see a lot of children roaming the streets. They were told to get onto tourist buses and then brought to hotel to be ‘used’ by foreigners. We keep quiet, and the country is not there to help,” she added.
Official data on sexual abuse remains scarce in Indonesia where over 90 percent of rape cases go unreported, according to a recent survey by victim support group Lentera Sintas Indonesia.
The Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection says it is working with local Balinese law enforcement to identify high risk locations where children are at risk of sexual abuse.
“Our provincial agency is working with the police to conduct secret raids in several places where we spot high risk locations for children who have become victims,” Yohana Yembisa told Reuters.
With only 15 safe houses across the nation to cater thousands of children who are at the risk of exploitation, the government is also partnering with non-government organisations to find the right mechanism to address the issue.
Activists say poverty and lack of education are key factors which can lead to child exploitation in the nation of 250 million population.
And they say law enforcers need to do more to help.
“Legal enforcement needs to be more proactive because a lot of cases where children are the victims go under-reported as the parents are ashamed of what has happened. For them it is a disgrace of the family. Therefore law enforcers need to play a proactive role in investigating cases of child sexual abuse,” said Anto Sudaryanto, Country Director of Terres Des Hommes (TDH), a Dutch-based child protection non-government organisation.
It is estimated 40,000 to 70,000 children are victims of sexual exploitation, said TDH, naming places that rely highly on tourism like Bali, Lombok and Batam as high risk areas.