Indonesia has revised its criminal code, and human rights groups have identified 17 articles which they believe threaten the freedoms won since the return to democratic rule in the 1990s. Though, the new laws will not take effect for three years and can be challenged in a constitutional court.
Among other things, the new code makes it a crime punishable by prison to insult the president or vice-president, criminalizes holding protests without permission, criminalizes sexual relations outside of marriage, and poses a threat to Indonesia’s LGBTQ community.
The Indonesia specialist at Human Rights Watch is most concerned about the “living law” which "could be used to implement narrow religious or customary practices such as female genital mutilation, child marriage, mandatory hijab rules, or polygamy.”
Some Indonesians have voiced their frustration over the Western media's obsession with the restrictions on sex, and the supposed threat to tourists, instead of the threat that the changes pose to Indonesians’ civil rights in general.
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