LGBTQ rights in Aceh

LGBTQ rights in Aceh
Aceh
Legal statusIllegal
Penalty100 strokes of the cane or 8 years imprisonment
Gender identitySince 2009, only Indonesians who have undergone gender re-assignment surgery have been allowed to change their gender on identity documents, and a third gender option is not recognized
MilitaryNot explicitly prohibited by Law (de jure), Illegal (de facto)
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsNo recognition of same-sex couples
AdoptionAdoption by single LGBTQ people recognized, but adoptions by same sex couples are banned

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in Aceh face severe challenges and prejudices not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents.

Homosexuality is illegal under Islamic Sharia law and since 2014, at least six men have been publicly caned for having gay sex, including two men who received 77 lashes in 2021.

In 2015 two Muslim women were rehabilitated for hugging in public in Banda Aceh, with a police official telling reporters that they “suspected the women were lesbians.”