Child prostitution near Newmont mine

Child prostitution has spread into some areas near Newmont mining project in the district of Maluk, Sumbawa Island, the Bali Post reported on Saturday.

Tens of children have become victims of the prostitution practices in the area and many of them have suffered a venereal disease, according to the daily which quoted Azhar Saini, the coordinator for the Santai save street children movement in Mataram.

Azhar said that the child prostitution in the resort island has been growing rapidly and is expected to to continue to expand due to the lack of the local government's attention to save the problem. "Prostitution involving children under 18 years old is continuing up to now," he said.

He suspected that the child prostitution in the area was backed by a major prostitution network as it did not only involve the children from the island but also from several towns in Java.(*)