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. There are also some specific city and district level ordinances that criminalise same sex conduct in certain areas within provinces, for example, Padang Panjang in West Sumatra. At the federal level there is significant evidence of a 2008 ‘anti-pornography’ law being used to arrest and prosecute LGBT+ people. 

Indonesia’s revised Criminal Code, adopted in December 2022 and in force since 2 January 2026, includes several provisions that may be used to target consensual same-sex intimacy. 

The Criminal Code introduced two new provisions criminalising sex outside marriage (Article 411) and cohabitation outside marriage (Article 412). When read together with the elucidation (explanatory notes) to Articles 411 and 412, these provisions limit the circumstances in which a person is deemed to have engaged in sexual intercourse with a person who is “not their husband or wife” to heterosexual couples only, insofar as such conduct occurs outside of marriage. Nevertheless, there remains a risk that the law may be applied and enforced inconsistently in practice, potentially extending to consensual same-sex intimacy. 

In recent years there has been an ongoing crackdown against LGBT+ people. Raids have been carried out on bars, clubs, and saunas frequented by gay men, often  leading to instances 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. Harassment against LGBT+ students have increased with public universities adopting discriminatory regulations that curb student media discussions on gender and sexual diversity.  

In Ache province, there have been recent instances of public canning and sentencing of gay men under Regulation No. 6/2014 which criminalises same-sex intimacy. This law entered into force in 2015. 

2026

Indonesia’s new Criminal Code entered into force on 2 January. While the manner in which it will be implemented remains uncertain, its provisions could be used to target LGBT people.

2025

According to Aidsfonds, at least six cities and districts in West Java province had issued local regulations that directly or indirectly discriminate against LGBT people, defining non-heteronormative relationships as ‘deviation’, ‘sin’, or ‘sexual disorientation’. While it is not clear whether all these laws impose criminal sanctions on LGBT people, they are reported to perpetuate stigma and fear among the community.

2023

In July, Garut Regency (West Java) enacted anti-LGBT legislation, when according to the US Department of State, Regent Rudy Gunawan signed a law creating a taskforce to prevent and monitor ‘immorality’, including same-sex relationships.

2022

In December, Indonesia’s parliament passed a new Criminal Code making all sex outside of marriage (adultery) punishable by up to a year in prison. Under the new law, people 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 Criminal Code also criminalises violations of ‘decency’ and producing pornography ‘containing obscenity or sexual exploitation which violate norms of decency’, laws which have historically been used to criminalise same-sex activity and gender expression. The law came into effect on 2 January 2026.

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, criminalising the ‘creation, dissemination or broadcasting of pornography containing deviant sexual intercourse’, which explicitly includes same-sex activity. The law has frequently been used to arrest LGBT people in Indonesia.

2026

In March, local media reported on a case in which 34 people were charged under the anti-pornography law for allegedly attending a ‘same-sex party’ at a hotel in Surabaya, East Java. The men were arrested after a police raid.

In another incident in March, police raided a house in Jember, East Java and raided four people suspected of being LGBT. It is not clear under what law they were arrested.

2025

In August,  two men were publicly flogged  76 times  in Aceh province for allegedly engaging in same-sex intimacy  in a public restroom in June. The two men were sentenced by the Banda Ache Sharia court for violating the Islamic Criminal Code which criminalises same-sex intimacy in the province. In the same month it was reported that three men were arrested in East Java for allegedly running an LGBT+ Facebook group. The men could face up to 12 years in prison for the “distribution of obscene material.” 

In June, it was reported that 75 people were arrested in a raid on a gathering described by police as a “gay party” in the city of Bogor. Those arrested could be sentenced under the Pornography Law which has been used by authorities to target LGBT+ people. 

In February, according to press reports, two men in Indonesia’s Aceh province were sentenced to 80 and 85 lashes by cane, respectively, after being found guilty of having gay sex. The two men, both students, were allegedly caught in an embrace after individuals entered their room without warning. According to the news reports, the judge chose not to impose the full sentence of 100 lashes given the two men had exemplary academic records. 

In January, there were reports across both regional and international press describing a mass arrest of 56 gay men at a ‘sex party’ in the capital Jakarta. According to the reports, three of the men arrested were facing up to 15 years in jail on anti-pornography charges. 

2022

According to the US Department of State, in September, a military tribunal in Jakarta dismissed five soldiers and sentenced them to prison for having same-sex intercourse. Two were sentenced to six months, the other three to five months in prison.

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.

The US Department of State reported that in August, a military tribunal dismissed a soldier from service and sentenced him to seven months in prison for having same-sex intercourse.

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 each sentenced to four to five years’ imprisonment.

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.

A Human Rights Watch report released in July documented a widespread crackdown on the LGBT community by police, with many incidents of arrest and prosecution under the 2008 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.

2026

In August, it was reported that the Indonesian Ulema Council issued a warning against men wearing women’s clothing for Independence Day celebrations, condemning this as a violation of Sharia and social norms. The Council said this was “an effort to prevent the covert campaign of the Lesbian, Gay, Sodomy and Obscenity (LGSP) movement.” 

In July, a video depicting the persecution of transgender women in Bogor City, West Java went viral on social media. At least 10 trans women were targeted by being beaten and doused with urine. 

In June, during Pride Month celebrations, Human Rights Watch reported an escalation in harassment and attacks against LGBT+ university students in Indonesia. At least 10 public universities adopted discriminatory regulations and are undermining freedom of expression by curbing student media coverage and social media discussions on gender and sexual diversity. Reports of harassment against LGBT+ students have increased: after a same-sex couple at Jakarta State Polytechnic in Depot, West Java was filmed kissing in the library, they were subjected to public humiliations and physical assaults, with university authorities stating that the student would be punished. Amid Pride celebrations, the conservative Indonesian Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia) declared that “sexual deviation” should carry criminal penalties heavier than adultery, and drafted legislation to criminalise those who promote LGBT+ people. 

In May, Human Rights Watch reported that Padang State University staff in West Sumatra expelled a student suspected of being gay after a video was circulated online, saying that the university would not tolerate any form of “sexual deviation.” 

2024

The US Department of State report found that complaints of LGBT discrimination were often ignored by police, but in criminal cases with LGBT victims, police investigated “reasonably well”. However, authorities harassed and extorted transgender people, who faced discrimination in employment and public services. Conversion practices were undertaken on LGBT people. NGOs reported being unable to openly register their organisations, and obtaining permits for public events was difficult. In July, for example, organisers of ASEAN Queer Advocacy Week were forced to cancel a regional conference in Jakarta due to threats from various groups who urged the government to prohibit the event.

2022

In August, a social media influencer was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in Makassar (reduced to 12 months) for posting LGBT content on social media, according to the US Department of State.

2020

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, called for 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

A Human Rights Watch report released in July documented systemic raids against LGBT people by police and militants, fuelled by anti-LGBT hate speech. This was said to be contributing to a worsening HIV epidemic in the country.

In February, Indonesia persuaded Google to pull 73 applications, including dating services from its playstore 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 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.

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