Indonesia

Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited explicitly in two provinces of Indonesia: Aceh, a conservative Muslim province which practices Shariah law, and South Sumatra, a Muslim-majority, but less conservative, province. Both provinces have introduced their criminalising laws since the turn of the twenty-first century. There are also some specific city and district level ordinances that criminalise certain areas within provinces, for example, Padang Panjang in West Sumatra. However, there is no national level law in Indonesia (i.e. penal code provision) which criminalises same-sex sexual activity.

At the federal level there is significant evidence of a 2008 ‘anti-pornography’ law being used to arrest and prosecute LGBT people. In 2022 the Indonesian parliament passed a new Penal Code criminalising sex outside of marriage. Although the new law is not set to come into effect until 2025, the provisions may be used to target LGBT people. In addition to potentially being captured by laws that criminalise same-sex activity, transgender people can be criminalised under the Penal Code 1999, Article 281 of which criminalises ‘offences against decency’. The maximum penalty under these laws is eight years’ imprisonment and 100 lashings.

There is significant evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, with LGBT people being frequently subject to arrest. In recent years there has been an ongoing crackdown against LGBT people, with multiple raids of bars, clubs, and saunas frequented by gay men, often followed by periods of arbitrary detention and eventual release, though several people have been prosecuted and convicted (usually under the anti-pornography law). Transgender people have also been subjected to arrests in recent years.

There have been consistent reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in recent years, including harassment, extortion, denial of basic rights and services, and familial pressure.

2022

In December, Indonesia’s parliament passed a new criminal code making all sex outside of marriage punishable by up to a year in prison. Under the new law, parents or children will be able to report unmarried couples to the police if they suspect them of having sex. Activists have stated that the law would leave same-sex couples at risk of prosecution, as they do not have the right to marry. The law will not come into effect until 2025.

2020

In January, it was reported that the 2019-2024 National Legislative Program (‘Prolegnas’) set by the House of Representatives included an ‘Anti-Sexual Deviance Propaganda’ Bill (No. 74), although details were unclear.

In February, it was reported that there was support for a ‘Family Resilience’ Bill, which would criminalise surrogacy (punishable with up to seven years’ imprisonment), and make provision for measures to address “families experiencing crises due to sexual deviation” – “sexual deviation” defined as “urges to achieve sexual satisfaction through unusual and unreasonable ways, which include sadism, masochism, incest and homosexuality” – including requiring LGBT people to seek “treatment” from government-sanctioned “rehabilitation” centres. In November, the deliberation of the Bill was discontinued in parliament due to concerns of overreach into people’s private lives.

2019

In September, a draft criminal code was finalised, making provision for the criminalisation of extramarital sex (necessarily capturing, in the absence of legal recognition of same-sex marriages, all same-sex sexual activity), cohabitation and public ‘obscene acts’ under Articles 417, 419 and 421 respectively. The legislation was due to be voted on, but its enactment was postponed by President Joko Widodo as a result of international outcry and a popular petition calling on the President to intervene.

2014

In October, the Aceh Province took further steps to harshen the punishment of homosexuality by passing a law which holds that anal sex between men and “tribadism” between women are punished by 100 lashes of the cane, in a public setting. The law came into force in 2015.

2008

In October, an anti-pornography law was adopted by parliament. The law has frequently been used to justify arrests of LGBT people in Indonesia, as same-sex sexual activity is not criminalised at the federal level.

2021 

In January, two men, aged 27 and 29, received 77 lashes from a masked officer in front of a crowd in the capital Banda Aceh. The two men were sentenced for allegedly having sex together. This is believed to be the third time gay men have been caned in Aceh since Islamic laws outlawing homosexuality were introduced in 2014.

2020 

In September it was reported that, although same-sex sexual activity is not criminalised at the federal level, a special task force had been set up to investigate alleged ‘homosexual activity’. That month over fifty people were arrested in Jakarta on suspicion of organising a ‘gay party’. Nine were charged under the anti-pornography law. ILGA World reports that the nine men were sentenced to four to five years’ imprisonment each.

2018

On 28 January, police raided several beauty salons in Aceh, arresting up to a dozen trans employees. They were accused of violating the province’s religious law. Some then had their hair forcibly shaved and were made to wear ‘male’ clothing and speak in ‘masculine’ voices in custody.

Also in January, police in West Java raided a private home and arrested five men under the anti-pornography law.

2017 

In April, fourteen men were arrested and forced to undergo HIV tests following a gathering at a hotel. In September, seven of the men were found guilty under the country’s anti-pornography law and sentenced to 18 to 30 months’ imprisonment.

In May, two gay men in Aceh were charged with violating Article 63 of Aceh’s Criminal Code, and were each publicly caned 83 times before a crowd of onlookers. The men were not allowed to speak with lawyers after being detained by Sharia Police, according to human rights organisations. This was the first instance in which individuals had been charged and publicly caned for homosexuality under Aceh’s 2014 law.

Also in May, police arrested more than 140 men in Jakarta in a raid on a gay sauna. The men were reportedly stripped naked for drug testing and police interrogation, and leaked photos appeared online. The majority were released the following day, however ten were prosecuted under local laws criminalising stripping.

In October, 58 people were arrested when police raided a popular gay club. Five employees of the nightclub were detained and threatened with charges under the anti-pornography law, but were ultimately released.

2020

The US Department of State report found that LGBT advocacy groups were not permitted to formally register. Discrimination and violence against LGBT people were reported, with families often putting minors into therapy, confining them to their homes, or pressuring them to enter heterosexual marriages. Local reports documented the harassment, detention, and extortion of transgender people, who also faced discrimination in employment, healthcare, and registration of their gender identity.

In January, following the conviction of Reynhard Sinaga of 159 sexual offences against 48 men in the UK – described as “the most prolific rapist in British legal history” – an Indonesian mayor, Mohammad Idris, calledfor anti-LGBT raids and other measures to prevent the “spread of LGBT”. Amnesty International strongly condemned the mayor’s “vicious campaign”, asserting that “there can be no justification for these hateful raids.”

It was reported in February that during the previous three years, Indonesians increasingly turned to exorcisms in an effort to “cure” members of the LGBT community. In some cases, such practices have been government-sponsored. Between November and December 2019 alone, Padang police arrested 18 same-sex couples and forced them to undergo conversion exorcisms.

2019 

In December, it was reported that foreign teachers have been required to answer questions relating both to their sexual orientation and their views on LGBT issues, under a 2015 government regulation prohibiting international schools from hiring foreign teachers with “an indication of abnormal sexual behaviour or orientation.”

2018

In February, Indonesia persuaded Google to pull 73 applications and shut down 169 websites related to the country’s LGBT community.

In October, Indonesian police arrested two men who allegedly operated a Facebook account to facilitate meet-ups for gay people and other sex-related services.

2017

In May, Andalas University in West Sumatra asked prospective students to declare on a form that they are not lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender before applying and enrolling at the institution.

In July, Anwar Abbas, a leader of Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organisation, Muhammadiyah, called for a boycott of Starbucks, saying that the international coffee chain’s pro-gay stance risks ruining the “religious and cultured” core of the Southeast Asian nation.

In December, Front Line Defenders released a report that included testimonies from dozens of human rights defenders who report that following a crackdown on LGBT rights in 2016 and amidst ongoing violent raids of LGBT gatherings, threats against community leaders are increasingly frequent, personal, and violent.

2011

In one personal account of life in Indonesia, a man described being attacked in the street. Having gone to the police station he described being “treated like an animal”. Whilst his attackers were arrested and charged, they were given probation and a small fine.