There is no legal recognition of same-sex unions in Indonesia. Article 1 of the Law No. 1 of the Year 1974 on Marriage states unequivocally that marriage is "a physical and spiritual bond between a man and a woman as husband and wife, having the purpose of establishing a happy and lasting family founded on the Belief in God Almighty".[1] Moreover, Article 2 states that a marriage is only lawful if it is in accordance with the laws of the religions of the respective parties. Meanwhile, Indonesians who have entered into same-sex marriage abroad are not allowed to register their marriage in Indonesia due to Article 1 of the Marriage Act.[2] Additionally, Article 34(1) of the Law No. 23 of the Year 2006 on Civil Administration obliges all marriages to be reported to the local authorities within 60 days after marriage, and the explanation of Article 34(1) states that "marriage" can only be performed by a man and a woman

Since 2008, Indonesia regularly censors LGBTIQ+ content. Laws against pornography prohibit content relating to "deviant intercourse", which has been interpreted to include homosexuality, even when there is no explicit imagery involved.

Some popular LGBT Websites have also been banned. Nevertheless, LGBT movies are most times free to be broadcasted in Indonesian cinemas.

In August 2023, Indonesia passed Undang-Undang Kesehatan Number 17, a new health law that includes passages that restrict plastic and reconstructive surgery related to changing appearances, including sex reassignment surgery.

There are no known protections.
The country in general is very hostile with LGBT community.

According to ILGA "In 2021, the Supreme Court affirmed that it was legal for police forces to dismiss gay staff after an officer was fired for his "sexual orientation" by the Central Java Police in 2018 and attempted to appeal. Further, armed forces personnel are subject to dismissal or jail if found guilty of same-sex conduct per TNI telegrams ST/398/2009 and ST/1648/2019, which have been applied in numerous reported military court cases."

Under the ST/398/2009 telegram letter of the Indonesian Military, it is illegal for gays and lesbians to have same-sex acts with the same gender. The Indonesian Military aggressively hunts, cracks down, imprison, and dishonorably discharges LGBTQIA+ identifying members of the Indonesian Military. Numerous people inside the Military were imprisoned if vigilantes caught Military members having private, consensual, gay sex.

The former Commander of the National Armed Forces of Indonesia, Andika Perkasa stated there are no laws banning LGBT people to serve in Indonesian Military. However, he realized that the Indonesian military doesn’t allow “indecent sexual acts” to happen in the military.