In Reply to: Your children have never been safe in posted by sherbert on Friday, 15. June 2012 at 13:24 Bali Time:
tourists to not let their young girls out of their site but they still let them walk around in bikini's, the shortest shorts I have ever seen by themselves, and I hear what the locals say they want to do to them. It is vulgar and you would never let your girls out of your site if you knew what was behind those smiles.
Remember, Balinese girls don't walk around like that, it's the impression they have, they still talk about wanting to do things to a Balinese girl but they say the White girls want it because they dress like they do.
9 is very young and I hope this is a one off tragedy never to be repeated. I usually hear them talking about teenagers, especially the boys outside the Jayakarta in Legian, they are the worst in that Legian (well known by locals to be).
That poor little girl should not have gone through that, I hope now parents will realise it's not as safe as they think and that could be some good that comes out of this at least.
On a different note, this might be the time to vent, I've been bottling this up inside and it's time to come out:
Sorry, LADIES but it's getting to the stage I really want to scream at some female tourists and tell them to cover up!! Look at what the locals wear (and not the Indonesian sex workers) the locals, in your hotels, in the streets, you don't see locals wearing shorty shorts (Balinese culture is to cover to the knee, for Hindu and for Muslims) or bikini's in the street. Indonesian girls wearing short shorts have a bad reputation and so will you. Once you leave the beach, cover up, don't go to a supermarket in a Bikini, there's a sign at Carrefour that says "No Naked Shopping", they are talking to the tourists, it's in English. For god sake cover up, I know it must be the fashion in Australia for the short shorts and I am quite envious that even 50 year old woman can wear them but DONT, it's disrespectful to the woman and it's provocative to the men and in other parts of Indonesia you would be arrested. Just because the Balinese in Kuta have Australian accents it does not make this Australia.
Balinese men talk about sex just like 16 year old boys, it just does not stop and they don't grow out of it and any excuse to talk about it they will, I've been at meetings where the Governor was there and half the men in the room were talking about sex while waiting for the meeting to start, it's common chit chat.
It is absolutely no excuse for rape but it will get you more respect if you respect their ways and may save your teenage girl as well.
Just read up on why the Indonesian Religious advisor wants mini-skirts banned, the reasoning is unbelievable to from Western worlds (but this is not a Western Island) and archaic, but they don't think like us and with more Muslim migration the tolerance of tourist behaviors may not last much longer.