Jakarta – The Indonesian government will remove the phrase "same sex" from the article on fornication in the Criminal Code (KUHP) bill.
The decision was made after several civil organizations criticized the phrase, saying it discriminated against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The initial draft version of the article stipulated that anyone engaging in same-sex fornication with an underage victim should be sentenced to a maximum of nine years in prison.
"We changed it, we've made it firmer, so no one, be they homosexual or heterosexual, may engage in fornication," said Enny Nurbaningsih, who heads the government team tasked with formulating the KUHP bill, on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.
"We want to make sure that the bill does not have an impression that it is discriminatory," Enny added. (hol/dmr)