Gay groups, human rights and women groups protested at media bias putting homosexuality in a negative light through association with and negative reporting of a serial murder case allegedly committed by Verry Idham Henryansyah.
"Much of the murder coverage focused on the homosexuality of the alleged perpetrator and not on the crimes. I am gay, but I don't kill people," Hartoyo, an activist at Our Voice, an NGO that supports homosexual and bisexual males, told reporters here on Thursday.
He said his gay group was annoyed after reading experts' statements on Internet news portals and in printed media pointing the finger at homosexuals and conveying prejudice.
Verry is currently under police custody for allegedly killing five people, one of whom was mutilated in Jakarta, while the others were found in Jombang, East Java.
"How come some experts link homosexuality with cruelty in the serial murders allegedly committed by Verry? Anyone can commit murder!" he said.
Hartoyo said homosexuality was already stigmatized in this country and the highlighting of the sexual aspect to the serial murders case made this worse.
"We feel more intimidated and scared," he said.
He gave the example of a master of ceremonies in a pub in Central Jakarta, which was a gathering place for homosexuals, who kept reminding the customers to be careful, as they heard that the police were calling reinforcements.
"Please avoid holding hands in public. We have been pinpointed recently, so please be more careful," the master of ceremonies repeated several times to the pub customers, Hartoyo said.
He also regretted some experts' statements that homosexuality was a sickness and should be cured, a notion which was completely wrong, Hartoyo said.
He said some experts might not have a good understanding or might hold a completely different perspective on homosexuality.
Agustine, an activist of the Ardhanary Institute, which is concerned with lesbians and transgender issues, said news media outlets took advantage of the alleged murderer's confession that he was gay.
"Things would be completely different if the serial murder was committed by a heterosexual. Who would write newspaper headlines like 'Heterosexual kills five people,'? she said.
On behalf of Civil Care to Stop Stigma against Homosexual and Bisexual Groups she passed on her sincere condolences to the families of Verry's victims.
"We hope the news media do not link the murder, allegedly done by Verry, with emphasis on sexual orientation that points the finger at us," she said.
She said she hoped police, who were investigating the case, would still respect humanity when they questioned Verry.
"We hope police treat Verry fairly, giving him his rights as an alleged murderer," she said.
The protesting groups Thursday included groups advocating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/transsexual rights like Arus Pelangi, Transsexuals Communication Forum, Srikandi Sejati; and women groups like Institute Pelangi Perempuan, Kalyanamitra, Kapal Perempuan, Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan and Koalisi Perempuan.
"Much of the murder coverage focused on the homosexuality of the alleged perpetrator and not on the crimes. I am gay, but I don't kill people," Hartoyo, an activist at Our Voice, an NGO that supports homosexual and bisexual males, told reporters here on Thursday.
He said his gay group was annoyed after reading experts' statements on Internet news portals and in printed media pointing the finger at homosexuals and conveying prejudice.
Verry is currently under police custody for allegedly killing five people, one of whom was mutilated in Jakarta, while the others were found in Jombang, East Java.
"How come some experts link homosexuality with cruelty in the serial murders allegedly committed by Verry? Anyone can commit murder!" he said.
Hartoyo said homosexuality was already stigmatized in this country and the highlighting of the sexual aspect to the serial murders case made this worse.
"We feel more intimidated and scared," he said.
He gave the example of a master of ceremonies in a pub in Central Jakarta, which was a gathering place for homosexuals, who kept reminding the customers to be careful, as they heard that the police were calling reinforcements.
"Please avoid holding hands in public. We have been pinpointed recently, so please be more careful," the master of ceremonies repeated several times to the pub customers, Hartoyo said.
He also regretted some experts' statements that homosexuality was a sickness and should be cured, a notion which was completely wrong, Hartoyo said.
He said some experts might not have a good understanding or might hold a completely different perspective on homosexuality.
Agustine, an activist of the Ardhanary Institute, which is concerned with lesbians and transgender issues, said news media outlets took advantage of the alleged murderer's confession that he was gay.
"Things would be completely different if the serial murder was committed by a heterosexual. Who would write newspaper headlines like 'Heterosexual kills five people,'? she said.
On behalf of Civil Care to Stop Stigma against Homosexual and Bisexual Groups she passed on her sincere condolences to the families of Verry's victims.
"We hope the news media do not link the murder, allegedly done by Verry, with emphasis on sexual orientation that points the finger at us," she said.
She said she hoped police, who were investigating the case, would still respect humanity when they questioned Verry.
"We hope police treat Verry fairly, giving him his rights as an alleged murderer," she said.
The protesting groups Thursday included groups advocating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/transsexual rights like Arus Pelangi, Transsexuals Communication Forum, Srikandi Sejati; and women groups like Institute Pelangi Perempuan, Kalyanamitra, Kapal Perempuan, Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan and Koalisi Perempuan.
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