The government is failing to respect and protect those who identify as homosexual, bisexual or transgender, despite their equal rights as citizens, says the official human rights body.
Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group continue to face discrimination, marginalization, torture and harassment, with the government denying them their rights as citizens, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said Tuesday.
"Under the Constitution the government must protect all citizens, so why do LGBTs still suffer ill-treatment in this country?" Komnas HAM member Yosep Adi Prasetyo said at a seminar titled "Taboo Sexuality: Challenges on Differences", co-hosted by the Finnish Embassy and women's group Kalyanamitra.
"There are even still police officers who discriminate against and harass this group of people," he added.
Yosep cited several cases of homosexual couples who were arrested by police in Banda Aceh, Aceh.
"They were instructed by local police to remove their clothing, or worse, they were ordered to re-enact their sexual activities in front of officers, who were mocking them," he said.
Siti Musdah Mulia, a moderate Muslim scholar from the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace, gave another example of discrimination that she encountered while involved in selecting new Komnas HAM members.
Siti, who was the secretary of an independent committee for the selection, said the committee was subject to a lot of criticism from various groups, including the media, when it accepted the nominations of two people from the LGBT group.
"This is proof that people are still discriminating against LGBTs. The two LGBTs were recruited because they had good visions and skills. We did not choose them for any political reasons," she said at the seminar.
Siti said there was no reason for the public and authorities to discriminate against this group.
"Pluralism is not a deviation but a blessing from God as a social investment in life," she added.
Lukas Mangindaan, a psychiatrist from the University of Indonesia, said homosexuality was no longer categorized as a mental illness or sexual deviation, as declared by the World Health Organization in 1990 and the Indonesian Health Ministry in 1983 and 1993.
"LGBTs do not suffer from any mental illness or dysfunction," he said at the forum.
Lukas said human behavior could not be considered abnormal as long as it did not display any mental dysfunction.
"What makes people think that someone is not normal is when they find that person to be different from the majority. It's no problem being heterosexual or homosexual; the important thing is they take responsibility for their choices," he said.
Yosep further said that in dealing with the LGBT issue, the government should address three points: respect, protection and fulfillment.
"Respect means the government must enforce the law to stop discrimination and violence by authorities against LGBTs, and protection means the government must take action to prevent ill-treatment by non-state actors," Yosep said.
"Fulfillment means the government must guarantee the rights of LGBTs as humans by allocating resources to understand the LGBT issue in government agencies."
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