Growing Repression of Indonesia’s Transgender Community

In October 2025 President Prabowo Subianto issued a presidential decree on national defense that listed “the promotion of LGBTQ+ culture” among non-military security threats. The decree, reported by the Jakarta Post, marks the first formal attempt to frame anti-LGBTQ+ measures as a matter of national security. Indonesia still lacks explicit anti-LGBTQ+ statutes, but transgender individuals may change legal gender only after sex-reassignment surgery and judicial approval, while same-sex activity can be prosecuted under moral laws. The province of Aceh, governed by syariah law, imposes flogging, fines or imprisonment for homosexual acts.

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Between July 14-16 mobs attacked trans women in the West Java city of Bogor. Over 15 victims were forced to strip, doused with urine and beaten; the assault was recorded and circulated online, prompting further slurs and calls for additional attacks. The violence occurred shortly after the decree’s issuance and reflects a pattern of vigilante aggression that activists say has intensified since the 2025 nationwide protests over economic stagnation.

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Since 2016 the government has pursued a “moral panic” against queer people, proposing bills to criminalize LGBTQ+ behaviour and labeling queer identities as mental illness. The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission, following the 2016 moral panic, issued circulars banning LGBTQ+ content on television and radio under the pretext of protecting public morality and children. Journalist Rifki Lafayette notes that editors frequently reject stories on LGBTQ+ persecution for fear of government reprisal or backlash from religious hardliners, creating a chilling effect on coverage.

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The advocacy group Social Justice Indonesia (SJI), with public-policy student Cornelius Prabhaswara, has shifted toward online campaigns, legal-NGO partnerships, and mutual-aid crowdfunding after the Bogor attacks. Funding from USAID and UNAIDS has dried up, forcing groups to seek new resources. Despite online harassment, platforms such as TikTok and X enable younger Indonesians to connect, share identities and support victims.

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• “At the same time, we have seen a shrinking of civil spaces across Indonesia, as a result of various laws restricting freedom of speech and assembly,” — Febi Ramadhan, lecturer and researcher, Universitas Indonesia.

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