Indonesia, Asia

The Republic of Indonesia is comprised of 17,508 islands. It is the world's largest archipelago state. With an estimated population of around 237 million people it is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority nation; however, no reference is made to Islam in the Indonesian constitution. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. Most Indonesian Hindus are Balinese, and most Buddhists in modern-day Indonesia are ethnic Chinese. Bali has a population of about 3,151,000 and is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority. Tourism is the largest single industry and as a result Bali is one of Indonesia’s wealthiest regions.

Unlike other Muslim countries, Indonesia is relatively tolerant of homosexuality. As in many countries in South East Asia, it is a part of everyday life. Even in the media several gay or transsexual prominent people exist. Nevertheless this subject is low key and not openly talked about. Fanatical Muslim groups have been known to attack gay men. Homosexuality is a not a crime when it occurs in private and between consenting adults. Also see: Islam and Homosexuality. 

 

News & Reports:

 

Indonesian transgender models shine spotlight on pollution with plastic fashion

Jakarta – Deep in the slums of Jakarta, a transgender community is using fashion to raise awareness about their lives and the environment in this densely populated, polluted city. Strutting on a makeshift catwalk as their neighbours watch in awe, the women show off colourful dresses made of plastic cutlery and bottles, and in keeping… Read more »

LGBTQ people remain outcasts in Muslim world

Yogyakarta, Indonesia (AP) — On the outskirts of Yogyakarta is a small boarding school with a mission that seems out of place in Indonesia, a nation with more Muslim citizens than any other. Its students are transgender women. It is a rare oasis of LGBTQ acceptance across the far-flung Muslim world. Many Muslim nations criminalize… Read more »

LGBTQ people remain outcasts in Muslim world

Yogyakarta, Indonesia (AP) — On the outskirts of Yogyakarta is a small boarding school with a mission that seems out of place in Indonesia, a nation with more Muslim citizens than any other. Its students are transgender women. It is a rare oasis of LGBTQ acceptance across the far-flung Muslim world. Many Muslim nations criminalize… Read more »

LGBTQ people remain outcasts in Muslim world

Yogyakarta, Indonesia (AP) — On the outskirts of Yogyakarta is a small boarding school with a mission that seems out of place in Indonesia, a nation with more Muslim citizens than any other. Its students are transgender women. It is a rare oasis of LGBTQ acceptance across the far-flung Muslim world. Many Muslim nations criminalize… Read more »

Indonesian soldiers get jail time for gay sex

Jakarta: Two Indonesian soldiers have been given a seven-month jail term for having gay sex, which is banned by the Southeast Asian nation’s military as “inappropriate behavior.” The soldiers, who joined the army last year and were based on the archipelago’s main island of Java, were also booted from the army, according to a military… Read more »

2 men in Indonesia publicly caned 77 times for having consensual sex

Two men in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province were publicly caned 77 times each on Thursday for having engaged in consensual sex. The men, aged 27 and 29, were arrested in November after neighbors became suspicious of their relationship. They broke into their rented room and caught them having sex, according to Heru Triwijanarko, Aceh’s acting… Read more »

Indonesia proposes bill to force LGBTQ people into ‘rehabilitation’

The “Family Resilience Bill” would force lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into treatment to “cure” their sexual orientation or gender identity. Lawmakers in Indonesia are pushing legislation that would force LGBTQ people into government-sanctioned rehabilitation centers to “cure” them of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Last month, three lawmakers in Indonesia’s House of… Read more »

Indonesia to ban homosexuality and S&M with ‘offenders’ having their children taken away

A leaked draft of a new ‘Family Resilience’ law in Indonesia has revealed plans to ban homosexuality and S&M sex, with offenders to be threatened with losing custody of their children. Under the proposed law, anyone “suffering” from “sexual deviations” would be required to report themselves to rehab facilities for treatment. It defines sexual deviations… Read more »

In Bali, LGBT businesses targeted for catering to the gay community and ‘tainting tourism’

Indonesia’s Island of the Gods has long been touted as one of Asia’s top gay destinations But even Bali is not immune from the nation’s growing anti-LGBT sentiment LGBT visitors to Bali could be forgiven for thinking that the Indonesian island is a haven of tolerance in an increasingly conservative Muslim-majority nation. “Beautiful landscapes, sandy… Read more »

Islamic exorcisms used as a ‘cure’ for homosexuality in Indonesia: ‘If I am Muslim, I can’t be gay’

Jakarta, Indonesia – It was in December 2017, as anti-LGBTQ sentiment was peaking in Indonesia, when Acep Saepudin’s father decided something needed to be done about his son. He sought out a spiritual teacher in their town of Purwakarta in West Java Province and asked the ustad to give the young man an Islamic exorcism… Read more »

Indonesia’s ‘gay sex ban’ is a ‘human rights disaster’ for LGBT people

A comprehensive overhaul of Indonesia’s criminal code that would effectively put a gay sex ban in place has been slammed by human rights groups. New laws being proposed will ban sex between unmarried couples and make it illegal for unmarried couples to live together. As same-sex relationships are not recognised under Indonesian law, it will… Read more »

Indonesia govt official labels LGBTI people ‘main enemy of national development’

Leaders are increasingly whipping up anti-LGBTI hysteria in the country The head of Indonesia’s population and family planning agency has labeled LGBTI citizens the ‘main enemy of national development’. ‘In addition to violating religious rules, these sexual deviations also weaken us’ Nofrijal said on Monday (3 June) according to Ankara. Leaders in Muslim-majority Indonesia have… Read more »

Indonesian university shuts down student news site over lesbian love story

Students could face up to 12 years in prison under Indonesia’s stringent pornography laws University officials in Indonesia this month ordered a student news website shut down its entire operation after it published a fictional same-sex short story. Student journalists could also face up to 12 years in prison under Indonesia’s draconian pornography law, which… Read more »

Trans women led Indonesia’s LGBTI movement and this is why it’s important

Stonewall 50: As New York celebrates 50 years since the Stonewall riots, Indonesia celebrates 50 years of the country’s first trans activist group In the 1960s, I grew up in Pasuruan, East Java in Indonesia. During this time, I learned that trans women in Jakarta started organizing action groups. The first trans women organization was… Read more »

UK soap star announces engagement in Sri Lanka, where gay sex is illegal

Opinion: Jimmy Essex and outlets covering his happy news make no mention of Sri Lankan legals. That’s a problem Actor Jimmy Essex, who starred on British soap Hollyoaks until last year, has gotten engaged to his musician boyfriend of six years. Sharing the news on social media yesterday, Jimmy said in a romantic Instagram announcement:… Read more »

Laws to ‘ban’ LGBTI people in Indonesian city are illegal

Indonesia’s Constitution says all citizens must be protected from discrimination regardless of sexuality Indonesia’s leading human rights organization said plans to ban LGBTI people in a major city goes against the country’s laws. The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said police actions in the city of Depok goes against the country’s mandate to… Read more »

LGBTI ‘exorcisms’ on the rise in Indonesia

Religious conversion therapy can include being dunked in cold water and forced to eat ash Islamic exorcisms of LGBTI Indonesians are on the rise in Indonesia. Known as ruqyah, the practice uses prayers and, at times, physical torture to drive out evil spirits. Medical experts denounce conversion therapies because they cause serious psychological damage. Dede… Read more »

Dozens of men attack two transgender Indonesians in West Java

More than 50 men stripped, hit in the chest, and cut the hair of two waria in the latest attack on the LGBTI community in Indonesia A gang of dozens of men attacked two transgender women in Bekasi, West Java on Monday (19 November). It comes amid increasing hostility against LGBTI people in Indonesia. The… Read more »

Thousands protest LGBTI community in Bogor, Indonesia

‘LGBT is very contagious and dangerous for the nation’s generations’ one of the organizers said Thousands of anti-LGBTI protesters marched on the Mayor’s Office in Bogor, Indonesia on Friday (9 November). The rally, organized by Muslim groups, pressured Bogor’s mayor to ban LGBTI people from the city on Java island. Chairman of the Anti-LGBT Bogor… Read more »

Police arrest 10 ‘suspected lesbians’ after two women hug in Facebook photo

The LGBTI crackdown in Indonesia is intensifying again Indonesia’s ongoing crackdown on the LGBTI community has intensified with the arrest of 10 ‘suspected lesbian’ women. Police in Padang, West Sumatra arrested the 10 women after someone reported them for being LGBTI. The person saw a photo of of one of the women kissing and hugging… Read more »

Indonesian police stop an LGBTI pageant from happening in Bali

Indonesian authorities have stopped an LGBTI pageant from happening in Bali. Muslim leaders said all LGBTI events should be banned across Indonesia. Police said they cancelled the event because of ‘rejection from the Balinese community’. They cancelled the Mr and Miss Gaya Dewata event claiming they received letters of complaint from locals in Bali. The… Read more »

Gay men, adulterers publicly flogged in Aceh, Indonesia

Fifteen people, including five women, were punished with public caning Friday for violating Sharia law in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province. Two men accused of being gay received 87 lashes each for gay sex, while nine others were sentenced up to 26 lashes for adultery. Four people were caned for being drunk, including one woman who… Read more »

HRW: Indonesia’s ‘Unlawful Action’ Contributes to Soaring HIV Rate

A human rights watchdog says Indonesia’s crackdown on its LGBT community is contributing to the country’s soaring HIV rate. Human Rights Watch says Indonesian authorities have taken “unlawful action,” in collaboration sometimes with militant Islamist groups, against people presumed to be LGBT. A newly released 70-page report documents how the unlawful activities have impacted the… Read more »

“Scared in Public and Now No Privacy”

Human Rights and Public Health Impacts of Indonesia’s Anti-LGBT Moral Panic Summary On May 21, 2017, police in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, raided the Atlantis gym and sauna, arresting 141 people, most of whom were gay or bisexual men. Ten were ultimately prosecuted under Indonesia’s pornography law. The Atlantis was not just a “gay club,” but… Read more »

It looks like Indonesia will not criminalize gay sex after all

The law will now ban the vague concept of ‘indecent’ sex which could have much broader consequences After months of debate, it seems as though Indonesia will not go ahead with plans to criminalize homosexuality. The idea to criminalize homosexuality was first floated at a Criminal Code (KUHP) bill working committee meeting. It quickly gained… Read more »

Gay sex to be banned in Indonesia – but it’s ‘not discriminatory,’ say lawmakers

Gay sex is set to be made illegal in Indonesia. The country’s new criminal code, which includes a prohibition on homosexual acts, is currently being discussed in the House of Representatives, with a goal of passing it into law later this year. ? Arsul Sani, a member of the People’s Representative Council which is forming… Read more »

Gay men will no longer be whipped in public in Indonesia

Gay sex in Indonesia will not be publicly punished with lashings anymore – but men will still receive the punishment behind closed doors. Aceh, the only region of the secular country where Sharia law is in effect, will continue to conduct the barbaric practice, which saw two men caned 83 times last year for consensual… Read more »

4 People Facing 100 Lashes For Alleged Gay Sex In Indonesia

Banda Aceh, Indonesia – Rights activists called on Tuesday for Indonesia’s Aceh province to release four people detained on suspicion of having homosexual sex, amid concerns over the persecution of the LGBT community in the world’s third-largest democracy. Secular Indonesia is predominantly Muslim but ultra-conservative Aceh is the only province to follow sharia, or Islamic… Read more »

Indonesian man and transgender woman could be caned 100 times for ‘having gay sex’

An Indonesian man and a transgender woman have been arrested for ‘having gay sex’. The pair face being sentenced to receive up to 100 lashes if convicted. ? Local residents reportedly broke into a hair salon in Aceh – the only region of the Muslim-majority country where Sharia law is in effect and gay sex… Read more »

Indonesia is rounding up transgender women and sending them to rehab

Transgender women in Indonesia are being rounded up and forced to go to rehabilitation centres, according to reports. The Jakarta Social Agency prompted the wave of detentions by classifying trans women as people who have social dysfunctional traits, according to The Jakarta Post. ? Chaidir, head of rehabilitation affairs at the agency, said it regularly… Read more »

Fear and horror among Indonesia’s LGBT community as gay sex ban looms

(CNN) – When Ael left home to go to school in Jakarta, his parents warned him to be careful in the big city. “Be a kind person,” his mother told him. He worked hard and found a good job as a teacher in the sprawling Indonesian capital, but seven years later the 23-year-old is fearful… Read more »

Indonesia is considering making extramarital and gay sex illegal, and the UN calls it ‘hateful’

Indonesia’s parliament is currently deliberating revisions to its criminal code, including proposals to outlaw sex outside marriage, same-sex relations, and co-habitation. The United Nations human rights chief on Wednesday criticized the proposal as “hateful.” Currently, Indonesian law does not regulate homosexuality, except in the ultra-conservative Islamic province of Aceh. Jakarta (Reuters) – The United Nations… Read more »

Indonesian Parliament to Propose Banning Gay Sex, Adultery

Indonesia’s Parliament is drafting proposed revisions to the national criminal code to prohibit all extramarital and same-gender relations, prompting outrage among activists decrying the attack on the LGBT community. Proposals are expected to be finalized in the next several weeks. The draft aims to ban extramarital sex, same-gender relations and cohabitation, all of which were… Read more »

Indonesia sentences gay club workers to 2-3 years in prison

An Indonesian court has sentenced 10 men arrested in a raid at a gay club and sauna to between two and three years in prison, an activist and a relative of one of the men said. They were among more than 140 men detained after the raid in May on what police said was a… Read more »

Top Indonesia court rejects attempt to criminalize gay sex

Jakarta, Indonesia — Indonesia’s top court on Thursday ruled against petitioners seeking to make gay sex and sex outside marriage illegal in a victory for the country’s besieged LGBT minority. The 5-to-4 decision by the nine-judge panel of the Constitutional Court rejected the arguments of a conservative group, the Family Love Alliance, which believes Indonesia… Read more »

Indonesian Supreme Court blocks appeal to ban gay sex

The Indonesian Supreme Court has blocked a measure to ban gay sex in the country after a push from a religious group lodged a petition. The Family Love Alliance, which launched a petition to Jakarta court to ban extra-marital and gay sex last year, has been left stumped after its appeal to the Supreme Court… Read more »

Small victories can’t stop the dangers for LGBTIQ people in Southeast Asia

A new report found the LGBTIQ community in Southeast Asia is experiencing ‘small steps sideways, big steps back’ The situation for LGBTIQ people in Southeast Asia has deteriorated, despite some small victories in the region. Rising influential conservative social forces had led to the increasing criminalization and pathologization of LGBTIQ people in the region. A… Read more »

Anti-gay hysteria is on the rise in Indonesia

Sodomy is not a crime, but may soon become one Until a year ago, Mama Yuli could count on a steady stream of reporters and television crews to make their way to her small orange house in Jakarta’s suburbs for a peek at what is thought to be Indonesia’s only shelter for transgender women. Yulianus… Read more »

Indonesia: Now Indonesia Wants to Hide Its Floggings

Fear and Loathing The authorities in Aceh – Indonesia’s only province that implements full Sharia (Islamic law) – clearly feel stung by the international outcry they generated when police publicly flogged two gay men in May. Their solution, it appears, is to put an end to public floggings. Instead, they’re just going to flog people indoors, away from the cameras.… Read more »

Indonesian province introduces new police taskforce targeting LGBT citizens in latest crackdown

Homosexuality legal in majority of country but human rights advocates increasingly concerned by persecution and harassment of gay and transgender people Police in Indonesia’s most populous province plan to deploy a taskforce to investigate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activity, a move likely to fuel concerns of a widening crackdown on the community in the… Read more »