Singaporean Men Practicing Risky Sex in Batam, Study Reveals

[kingwilly]

Singapore. About 60 percent of sex workers in Batam, Riau Islands, have Singaporean clients, and only one in four of these clients use condoms regularly.

These are some of the key findings in a recent study by migrant welfare group Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (Home) and non-governmental organizations in Batam.

Bridget Tan, president of Home, said the main aim of the study was to look into the practicing of safe sex among Batam's sex workers, and how that data could help shed light on cross-border human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in Singapore.

"There is nothing new about Singaporeans going to Batam for sex, but now we know the magnitude of the potential HIV problem that involves Singaporeans; before we did not know much about their numbers or their condom use," she said.

The survey did not elicit the reasons Singaporeans shunned practicing safe sex.

But Donovan Lo, executive director of non-governmental group Action for Aids cited studies showing lower condom use among Singaporeans abroad mainly because sex workers abroad are less likely to initiate condom use.

"So Singaporean men need to exercise more responsibility for themselves when they are away," he said, adding that his organization has encountered men who were diagnosed with HIV after patronizing sex workers overseas.

He noted that the Singapore men who visit Batam for such trysts are mostly older Chinese men, but there is an increasing number of younger Malay males.

The survey interviewed 300 sex workers; about half were from four of the eight sex farms in Batam and the rest worked in entertainment joints, such as bars or clubs. There are about 5,500 sex workers in Batam.

Conducted in April this year, the survey included questions such as when they began working in the sex industry, if they were forced into the trade, and if they practiced safe sex.

Of the 300, 29 percent said they were forced or tricked into the sex trade, and 3 percent said they came into the industry underage, or below 18.

The study also outlines several recommendations, and Home has since submitted the study to the authorities.

The recommendations include running a nationwide No Condom, No Sex campaign to promote safe sex among Singaporeans who have multiple sex partners.

The latest available figures from 2007 show that about 9 percent of Batam's sex workers are HIV-positive.

Another recommendation set out in the report is to create greater awareness among Singaporeans through the media that they are running afoul of the law if they have underage sex, even if it takes place abroad.

Under Section 376C, those who seek and pay for sex with a minor who is under 18 outside Singapore can be jailed for up to seven years, fined or both.

The police said no Singaporean has been charged with having paid sex with a minor overseas for the past three years.

Reprinted courtesy of The Straits Times

[The Ghost Of The Moog]

four of the eight sex farms in Batam

They're no different to battery hens.

Ever been to Tiara Ceria, Wilson?

[kingwilly]

Ever been to Tiara Ceria, Wilson?

Is that in Mangga Dua ?

Not really my scene, I tend to just go to the pubs in Kemang drink with the footy/rugby/cricket fellas these days...

[The Ghost Of The Moog]

It was Jl Mangga Besar. Glodok area.
Not far from Stadium & Malioboro.

[kingwilly]

It was Jl Mangga Besar. Glodok area. Not far from Stadium & Malioboro.

I know the area, Millennium is another big (mainly Indo style) club there, but those days are no longer for me.

is it any good ?

[The Ghost Of The Moog]

is it any good ?

It's pretty sleazy.
As close an in-town equivalent to the sex farms mentioned above.

I haven't been to Glodok for over 10 years. The entire area might be redeveloped now.
One owner of Tiara Ceria was found dismembered in a suitcase in the Banjir Kanal.

[kingwilly]

It's pretty sleazy. As close an in-town equivalent to the sex farms mentioned above.

Discovered some places like that in Yogja, Gang Tiga. - much the same, without being in a large barn. Narrow alleys, same houses converted into brothels, sitting room to wait, beers and music, cardboard/plywood rooms with a thin mattress on the floor.

Girls sit on the door step to invite passerbys in.

[VocalNeal]

Batam is not the best kept secret in Asia but then.....

[kingwilly]

But then what?