Indonesia outlaws sex outside marriage - and law extends to tourists
6 December 2022, 11:59 | Updated: 6 December 2022, 12:02
Indonesia has passed a new law that criminalises sex outside marriage, and the law also applies to foreign tourists.
The new criminal code passed in the country applies to citizens, foreign residents as well as tourists.
The code bans cohabitation before marriage, apostasy and criminalises insulting the president and views that go against national ideology.
It also bans the staging of protests without proper notification.
Sex outside marriage is punishable with up to one year in jail, despite worries the laws may scare away tourists.
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Cohabitation will be punishable by six months’ jail, but charges must be based on police reports lodged by a spouse.
The code will not come into effect for three years.
Indonesia currently bans adultery but not pre-marital sex.
Maulana Yusran, deputy chief of Indonesia's tourism industry board, said the new code was "totally counter-productive" at a time when the economy and tourism were starting to recover from the pandemic.
Taufik Basari, a legislator of the NasDem Party, said if a tourist visiting Bali, for instance, had consensual sex with an Indonesian national, and it was reported to police by the Indonesian’s parent or child, the tourist could be arrested.
“I know it will impact tourism, which is why we should explain to the public that reports to police should be limited to what the family feels is really important,” he said.
