Transgender people are fleeing the city of Banda Aceh in the sharia-ruled Indonesian province for fear of being victims of further violent attacks that trans people have been subjected to recently.
The Indonesian autonomous region of Aceh is under sharia laws and the punishment for LGBT relations could be as serious as lashes. Recently there has been an increase in anti-LGBT protest and persecution. The LGBT community are living in constant fear of attacks.
The police in the region recently carried out a raid on establishments run by trans people or frequented by the LGBT community and arrested 12 people. They then proceeded to subject them to public shaming: they were made to strip from the waist up and cut their hair.
It is believed that while the arrested trans people were detained they were subjected to a series of “activities” to make them more manly. They were forced to exercise, cut their hair and speak in deeper voices.
There are more anti-LGBT demonstrations scheduled and the trans community fear that more raids will follow. This is causing them to flee the city to seek a place where they’ll have a greater sense of safety.
Matters are made worse by the Indonesian parliament who have drafted new legislation to make all same-sex relations and any extramarital sex illegal.
> Naomi Round
Trans People Flee Indonesian City After Violent Attacks
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