It's getting increasingly tense for the LGBT+ community in Indonesia as the government steps up attempts to make life in the country more difficult for queer citizens.
It was reported over the weekend that approximately 12 trans women were arrested in the province of Aceh, their heads shaved as they were dressed in men's clothing in what authorities referred to as "coaching" these women to behave like "real men".
The raid was referred to as "Operation Anti Moral Illness," which seems to align with the rising anti-LGBT+ sentiment Indonesia has seen in recent years.
Aceh is the only province in Indonesia where homosexuality is illegal due to the strict religious influences which last year saw two men publicly caned in front of a crowd as punishment for having gay sex.
Raids on homes of "suspected lesbians", plans to ban LGBT+ characters on TV, a raid on a gay sauna and the arrests of over 140 men at a "gay sex party" are just a handful of recent examples of persecution against LGBT+ Indonesians.
Now it appears the government may be making moves to criminalise gay sex acts across the whole country, expanding Aceh's punishments to the entire nation. The government also demanded one of the most popular gay dating apps, Blued, be removed from the Google app store.
In December last year, an attempt to make gay sex and adultery illegal was rejected by the Indonesian Constitutional Court, however recent events have LGBT+ activists concerned that new laws will be introduced soon, aimed at reducing the rights and freedoms of the LGBT+ community.
New laws to ban all sex outside of marriage, including cohabitation, extramarital sex and same-sex relations, have been drafted by officials and could be used to target the LFBT+ community.
A recent study found that nearly 90 percent of Indonesians feel "threatened" by the local LGBT+ community, saying that their religion forbids any relations that exist outside of heterosexual ones.
