TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Bedroom bill: Proposed ‘family resilience’ law would require LGBT people to report for ‘rehabilitation’

Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, February 19, 2020

Share This Article

Change Size

Bedroom bill: Proposed ‘family resilience’ law would require LGBT people to report for ‘rehabilitation’ A passerby hugs an activist campaigning for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community during Car Free Day in Jakarta on Sunday. (The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana)

A

draft bill on family resilience proposed by members of the House of Representatives defines homosexuality as sexual deviance and requires lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people to report to authorities for rehabilitation.

Article 85 of the draft bill, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, stipulates that a state body responsible for “family resilience” would be required to handle “family crises due to sexual deviation” through spiritual guidance and social, psychological and medical rehabilitation.

Furthermore, the bill defines sexual deviations as “urges to achieve sexual satisfaction through unusual and unreasonable ways, which include sadism, masochism, incest and homosexuality.”

The bill defines homosexuality as a social identity problem in which someone loves others of the same sex.

“Families experiencing crises due to sexual deviation are required to report their members to agencies handling family resilience or rehabilitation institutions to undergo treatment,” Article 86 of the draft bill states.

The bill also requires adults experiencing “sexual deviation” to report to authorities or relevant rehabilitation centers, which would be established by a state body responsible for family resilience.

Article 50 of the draft bill requires the government and regional administrations to protect families from physical and non-physical threats.

The bill later enumerates what it considers non-physical threats, including “individualism, secularism, casual sex propaganda, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender [LGBT] propaganda.”

Gerindra Party lawmaker Sodik Mujahid, one of the bill’s proponents, said LGBT behavior should be reported for treatment because it would disrupt the future of the mankind.

“Let’s look at it more fundamentally. The practice of homosexuality for example – does it not disrupt the future of mankind on a family basis?” he said on Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Sodik added that the provision on rehabilitation for homosexuals was based on the values of state ideology Pancasila, which he said opposed homosexuality.

He also questioned criticism saying that the state should not issue legal regulations on private matters such as sexuality.

“I think Pancasila has a different measure of what constitutes private and national matters. Maybe in Western countries this is a private matter. However, it’s not private when it comes to Pancasila,” the Gerindra politician went on to say.

Sodik said all the items in the proposed bill aimed to provide protection and empowerment for families as the basic social unit. “Ethics, morals and behaviors start from families. That’s why we must strengthen families, including by protecting them from such things,” he said. (syk)

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.