CRIMINAL: Indonesia bans SEX before MARRIAGE; Tourists included 

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#Indonesia, December 7, 2022 – Indonesia has made it illegal to have sex outside of marriage following the passing of a controversial new criminal code in Parliament.

The Criminal Code which carries a host of new regulations criminalizes sex between any two people outside of marriage on pain of a year’s imprisonment, including residents, foreign nationals living in Indonesia and even tourists.

The Muslim majority country signed the bill into law on Tuesday December 6th according to state owned media outlet Antara.  It passed unanimously.

The law also applies to adultery and even unmarried couples living together, both now carry jail time.  In addition to that, it places restrictions on speech and religion.

AP news says it carries punishable clauses on blasphemy, deviating from the five recognized religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism – spreading communist messaging and even insulting the president.

Chairman of the House of Representatives, Bambang Wuryanto told Antara it had been perfected through holistic means by accommodating inputs from all members of society.

But after it passed, young people gathered in front of Parliament protesting.

Human rights activists are describing it as a dramatic rollback of individual rights.

Usman Hamid, Amnesty International’s Indonesia Executive Director said,  “What we’re witnessing is a significant blow to Indonesia’s hard-won progress in protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms–Outlawing sex outside marriage is a violation to the right to privacy protected under international law.  Such ‘morality’ provisions could even potentially be misused to criminalise victims of sexual assault or to target members of the LGBTI community.”

Indonesia is one of the most popular destination spots in the world and Bali especially has become a world renowned island swarming with tourists from across the globe all year round.

According to Bali Management Villas, in October alone, more than 300,000 tourists visited the island.