Indonesia moves anti-gay floggings out of the public eye
A man is lashed in Aceh for having gay sex (CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP/Getty)
Indonesia has moved the flogging of LGBT people away from the public eye, but continues to punish LGBT people.
Several public floggings have taken place this year of people, and two men were given 83 lashes each for being together. The punishment came a day after 141 men were arrested in Jakarta, the capital, for having a “gay sex party”.
Now the Human Rights Watch has said that the floggings continue, but that authorities in the Aceh Province have moved them away from being public.
Media reports suggest that Acehnese leaders are worried that videos of May’s flogging, which were widely circulated online, make the province unappealing for investors.
Anti-LGBT discrimination is said to be costing Indonesia as much as $12 billion every year, according to a recent study.
The losses are a result of barriers to employment, education, healthcare, as well as “physical, psychological, sexual, economic and cultural violence” suffered by LGBT citizens.
France has been urged by human rights groups to put pressure on Indonesia to do more to protect the rights of LGBT+ people.
A Muslim leader in Indonesia earlier this year called for a boycott of Starbucks over the company’s CEO’s acceptance of LGBT rights.
Malaysian leaders later joined in calls for the boycott.
Earlier this year, Malaysia’s health ministry defended its intention to hold a competition on the best ideas for “preventing” homosexuality and transgender identities.
The most populous province in Indonesia also this year launched a special police team to crack down on those suspected of being LGBT.
