Being LGBT in Asia is a report focusing on eight priority countries: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam, the report examines LGBT lived experiences from a development and rights perspective. The report for Indonesia is the result of bringing together 71 representatives of Indonesia’s 49 LGBT organisations as well as governmental and non-governmental institutions, to The Indonesia National LGBT Community Dialogue in June 2013.
The report finds that while same-sex sexual relations are not criminalised at the national level, some local ordinances criminalise these relations as immoral behaviour (Aceh); LGBT people are not recognised in nor protected under national laws; anti-discrimination laws do not apply to sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI); nor the availability of anti-discrimination that pertain to sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI), hence the lack of support towards them.
Same-sex sexual relations are not criminalised at a national level in Indonesia, but are criminalised in some localities. The lack of institutional support for the LGBT population in combination with some outright condemnation of the LGBT community has negative consequences for the LGBT community in Indonesia. The report higlights the biggest challenges for LGBT equality and provides case studies that demonstrate how the lack of institutional support can lead to outright homophobia and violence.
