Indonesia Dodges a Bullet, but Moral Panic About Sexuality Persists

Expand After a weekend raid on a sauna popular among gay men, a plainclothes policeman holds a rifle as he escorts several men during a police investigation in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 9, 2017.  ©2017 Reuters/Beawiharta In mid-December, Indonesia’s Constitutional Court dismissed a petition that had sought to criminalize all consensual sex outside of marriage, as well as adult consensual same-sex conduct. Women’s rights groups, sexual and gender minorities and others welcomed the 5-4 vote, which followed nearly 18 months of hearings. The decision was more than hypothetical. With some estimating…

© Human Rights Watch - samedi 20 janvier 2018