COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT OF THE FORMER RED-LIGHT DISTRICT OF DOLLY IN SURABAYA, EAST JAVA PROVINCE

Red-light district of Dolly was one of the largest prostitution business places in Southeast Asia. Due to its adverse effects, especially on moral development of the next generation, Surabaya city government shut down the place on July 18, 2014, based on Surabaya Regional Regulation No. 7 of 1999 on prohibition of using place for immoral acts and attraction to commit immoral acts. After the shutdown of the red-light district, the problems are not completely solved, despite that the former commercial sex workers have been sent back to their respective regions of origin outside of Surabaya. The problems are related to livelihood of the people who depended on economic life in the red-light district.
The purpose of this research was to study and analyze the implementation of community empowerment of former red-light district of Dolly in Surabaya, as well as to obtain new concept/model in the context of developing public administration, especially ones related to the implementation of community empowerment.
The analysis tool used in this study was Suhartot’s empowerment theory (1994: 77-100), consisting of 1) allowing, 2) Strengthening, 3) Protecting, 4) Supporting, 5) Maintaining.
Results of the study showed that community empowerment of former red-light district of Dolly have been carried out by Surabaya city government together with other related stakeholders, i.e., private sector, higher education institutions and community elements incorporated in Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), although there are still disobedient people who keep running the prostitution business secretly. The concept of empowerment suggested is to increase spiritual awareness, not only of the affected community but also the commercial sex workers and the pimps who ran their activities in red-light district of Dolly. Using the ex-localization community of Dolly who is already skilled / trained as a trainer / motivator, Supervision of the existence of prostitution is not only carried out by competent apparatus but can involve the participation of the community, evaluating empowerment includes affected communities and Commercial Sex Workers (CSWs) and pimps to see the results of empowerment , so that plans and programs can be made that are suitable for improving the welfare of the community and ex-CSWs and pimps.