No Sex for You! Indonesia Criminalises Sexual Intercourse Outside Marriage

The Indonesian parliament has passed a new criminal code containing measures designed to deter “immoral acts” and suppress divergent political views.

The laws were supported by all political parties and signify the nation’s regression to religion-based laws – Indonesia being the most populace predominantly Muslim nation on earth.

Each of the changes will need to be ratified by the country’s president, Joko Widodo, which is expected to occur in the coming weeks.

Regulations effecting the laws will then need to be implemented, which is expected to take more than a year.

What are the laws?

Perhaps the most controversial of the laws is a prohibition on sexual intercourse outside marriage.

The new law means that tourists who visit popular destinations such as Bali will be subject to potential criminal prosecution and face up to 12 months in prison if a complaint is received by a spouse, parent or child that they engaged in sexual intercourse outside marriage.

The same maximum penalty will apply to unmarried couples who cohabitate.

Other laws include a prohibition on black magic and broadened laws against religious blasphemy, as well as general provisions which could see the broader implementation of Sharia-based laws.

The latter is of particular concern to the nation’s LGBTIQ+ community.

The laws also prescribe a 10-year maximum penalty for anyone who associates with an organisation that follows Marxist-Leninist ideology and a four-year maximum for spreading communist thought.

On the other side of the coin, new exceptions have been introduced to the crime of abortion including for women with life-threatening conditions and victims of sexual intercourse without consent (also known as ‘sexual assault’ or ‘rape’), provided the foetus is less than 12 weeks old.

Will the laws be enforced?

Presuming the rule against sexual intercourse outside marriage is ratified by the president and regulations are implemented to effect it, there is scepticism about whether it will ever actually be enforced against tourists – particularly given the requirement that a complaint must be made to police by a spouse, parent or child of the suspect.

The general view is that the main purpose of the new code is to signal a move towards a more conservative legal framework, and to make clear the government is intent on upholding what it considers to be acceptable behaviour.