‘Experts’ are speaking in Indonesian court in an attempt to criminalise extramarital LGBT sex
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“Experts” in Indonesia are giving statements in a top court as part of an effort to criminalise extramarital LGBT sex.
Petitioners are arguing in the Constitutional Court that sexual activities outside of marriage may turn Indonesia into an “uncivilised nation”.
The judicial review has been branded controversial as it seeks to criminalise consensual extramarital sex and homosexual sex acts.
The government is not backing the case, and has demanded that the petition should be rejected.
The three “experts” giving information to the review all support the Association of Muslim Housewives which, in turn, supports the Family Love Alliance.
Elly Risman, who has been labelled an expert on psychology and parenting, warned that without new provisions children may be negatively affected by information about sex online.
The Jakarta Post reported that she said in the hearing: “Extramarital sex has turned into a lifestyle. How we can save the nation if we don’t have the tools?”
Another “expert”, Syamsu Yusuf, said that the number of people engaging in extramarital sex acts had become a “moral disaster”.
Despite the lack of Government backing, Indonesia’s LGBT community are facing turbulent times.
While homosexuality has never been illegal in the Islamic country, attitudes towards LGBT people have become steadily more extreme in recent years despite a growing gay population.
The Indonesia Psychiatric Association (PDSKJI) still classifies homosexuality as an illness.
The spokesperson for the president of Indonesia has said that the country has “no room” for the LGBT community amid the reports of an unprecedented amount of anti-LGBT attacks in Indonesia.
The country has agreed to block dozens of gay websites and apps in a crackdown on so-called “gay propaganda”.
The head of an Indonesian university has initiated a program to “normalise” gay students.
The only transgender boarding school has been forced to close after being branded “immoral.”
A gay couple were arrested in Indonesia over a photo showing them kissing that appeared on Facebook. The 22 year old university student and his 24 year old boyfriend were arrested on the island of Sulawesi after other Facebook users complained to police about the photo.
