Country Overview
Indonesia
At a glance
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On January 2, 2026, Indonesia’s new penal code went into force after it was signed into law in December 2022. It penalizes all consensual extra-marital sex between adults with two years’ imprisonment. As same-sex marriage is not permitted, this effectively criminalizes all consensual same-sex sexual relations, though prosecution must be based on a complaint from the alleged offender’s spouse, parent, or child. Human rights activists have warned that this provision could be used to support societal policing of sexuality, fueling discrimination, intimidation, and violence.
The vaguely worded 2016 National Pornography Act has also been used to target LGBTIQ people. Over the course of 2025, on the basis of this law, police conducted several raids of private gatherings that they described as “gay parties,” detaining 56 people in Jakarta, 75 people in Bogor, and 34 people in Surabaya. This law has also been used by authorities and internet service providers to block online LGBTIQ content, leading some LGBTIQ individuals to resort to self-censorship. Locally, a growing number of regions and cities have issued ordinances penalizing same-sex intimacy, “immoral behavior,” and public indecency. The province of Aceh, which operates under Shariah, criminalizes same-sex intimacy with punishments that include public floggings, imprisonment, hefty fines, and forced conversion practices.
Many Indonesians believe that being gay or lesbian and accepting homosexuality go against religious norms and societal values. Negative media coverage and hostile political rhetoric, including calls for the criminalization of same-sex intimacy by religious leaders, have exacerbated negative public opinion. Lesbian, bisexual, and queer women are subjected to online gender-based violence in Indonesia, and the restrictive legal situation leaves victim-survivors without recourse to the law. Acceptance is slightly higher for transgender individuals, mainly because of the historical social role of the waria people, a third-gender community in Indonesia.
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