Fedina S. Sundaryani and Tama Salim, Jakarta – Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community are anxious about the government and the general public's recent harsh attacks on their sexual orientation.
Openly gay Dimas Merdeka, 25, said that although he never expected much from the government, the ongoing discrimination from officials had left him feeling hurt. Dimas said the government and the state were obliged by the Constitution to protect all Indonesians.
"Well, I'm a gay man and I feel like I've been discriminated against in my own house. We don't expect anything from the government, so they should just leave us alone. [...] We as Indonesian citizens need to be protected and accepted as long as we don't overrule or threaten other people's lives," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Dimas, who came out to his mother when he was 17, said he was realistic and did not expect gay marriage to be legalized in the next few years. However, he was worried that the current anti-LGBT atmosphere would prove harmful for young teenagers still discovering their sexual identity.
"I think it may be harmful for teenagers because they are physically and mentally fragile. Not every teen and kid has a very proud and accepting mum with a religious upbringing. How would you feel if you were growing up and you thought that in the future you could not go to school or get a job?" he said.
Similar concern for LGBT teenagers was expressed by 24-year-old Rocky Intan. "Personally, it's hurtful but it's something I've dealt with. I've heard people say [discriminatory things] a lot of times before but I think I've developed a thicker skin. I'm disappointed but what do you expect? This is a Muslim-majority country, but I'm worried for young teenage LGBTs," he said.
Rocky, who works as a researcher, explained that LGBT youth had a hard enough time dealing with the fact that family members might not accept them if they came out publicly.
"It would be significantly harder knowing that society is against you through legislation, among other things, when in fact I believe that coming out publicly is very important for us," he said.
The regularity of derogatory comments against LGBT people has sharply increased in the past month. Recently, Health Ministry officials became the latest party to make such comments by saying that LGBT people were prone to psychiatric problems such as depression due to certain problems in their families or environments.
Health Ministry secretary-general Untung Suseno Sutarjo emphasized that identifying as LGBT was not a mental disorder. He said he was just afraid that it could be dangerous if people talked about the issue too much because people in remote areas, children and teenagers and those currently unaware of LGBT issues would become familiar with the topic.
Furthermore, he added that being transgender could be considered a biological disorder such as a genetic irregularity found on a person's chromosome.
Meanwhile, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid made clear his opposition to the LGBT community, likening the group's struggles to legitimize themselves to a band of pickpockets attempting to win legal recognition for their activities.
While the senior Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician acknowledged that the LGBT community was a reality of life in Indonesia, he categorized them as thieves and corruptors. "Problematic realities must be corrected, or in their case, cured," he said.
[Nurul Fitri Ramadhani also contributed to the story.]
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/20/govt-s-stance-painful-young-lgbts.html