Did you know that on paper, being LGBTQIA+ in Indonesia was never illegal at the national level? When the country gained independence in 1945, it adopted the Dutch legal system, which did not criminalize consensual same-sex relations between adults.
Despite strong social stigma and widespread discrimination in families and communities, same-sex relationships in Indonesia remained technically legal for decades, with no national law directly banning them. Some milestones were even achieved, such as the founding of the country’s first trans, gay, and lesbian organizations.
Progressive figures also emerged, such as Ali Sadikin, the Governor of Jakarta in the 1960s–70s, who publicly expressed support for queer rights.
Things began to change in the 2000s. In 2008, the government passed an Anti-Pornography Law despite protest. In the official explanation of Article 4, homosexuality and lesbianism, along with oral and anal sex, necrophilia, and bestiality, were explicitly categorized as forms of ‘deviant’ sexual conduct.
The law was soon used recklessly against LGBTQIA+ people. Police raids on private gatherings, arrests, and public shaming became increasingly common. Queer life, once tolerated in the shadows, was now under active pressure. The most dramatic shift happened in Aceh, the only Indonesian province allowed to implement full Sharia law. Since 2014, same-sex relations were explicitly criminalized in Aceh, and punishments include public caning, carried out in front of crowds.
In 2022, Indonesia passed a new Criminal Code banning all sex outside of marriage. While this provision is a delik aduan (enforceable only if a spouse, parent, or child files a complaint), it still poses a serious threat to queer people. At the same time, local governments across Indonesia continue to plan new regulations targeting LGBTQIA+ people.
If this trend continues, the future for LGBTQIA+ Indonesians will only grow darker. Action must be taken to confront the spread of homophobic and transphobic narratives before they place the entire community in even greater danger.