īeyond the national laws, overt violence against gay or transgender people, by civilians, is still rare. Indonesia's northwesternmost province of Aceh (the only province which sharia law is implied), has a sharia-based anti-homosexuality law that punishes anyone caught having gay sex with 100 lashes. At the local level, gay or transgender people can be fined or detained under public indecency laws against homosexuality and cross-dressing.
The national criminal code does not prohibit cross-dressing or adult, non-commercial and consensual homosexual conduct between consenting adults, although it does contain a higher age of consent for same-sex sexual conduct, and there are some reports that police have sometimes harassed gay or transgender people using vaguely worded public indecency laws. In Indonesia, where religion plays a dominant role in society, and where more than 80 percent of the population are Muslim, homosexuality is not punishable by national law, but condemnation of homosexuality has been voiced by many religious leaders, not only Islamic. Traditional religious mores tend to disapprove of homosexuality and cross-dressing. Public discussion of homosexuality in Indonesia has been inhibited because human sexuality in any form is rarely discussed or depicted openly. Homosexuality in Indonesia is generally considered a taboo subject by both Indonesian civil society and the government.
