Was it true in Indonesia forbidden sex out of marriage?

In December, many media wrote about the adoption of the new Criminal Code by Indonesia, in which, among other things, there is a punishment for sex between people who are not married. We decided to check if this is true.

Almost all major media wrote about the new rules in Indonesia. This was reported in Russia "Kommersant", And agency"Interfax", And RBC. The news went around the whole world: it appeared on BBC, Reuters, CNN And AP. It appeared everywhere unchanged: in Indonesia, extramarital sex will now be prohibited, punishment for violation - six months of prison.

December 6, 2022, the Indonesia parliament unanimously Accepted New Criminal Code. The code has passed several editions and took the final look as this date. The new Criminal Code should have been approved back in 2019, but then some scandalous provisions of the document led to mass protests in the country. The greatest outrage was caused by new articles on which sex between unmarried people became a criminal offense. As a result, the code was never adopted.

In Indonesia, where the majority of the population make up Muslims, laws were tightened gradually and not everywhere. The most severe rules were accepted in the provinces of Achech: there were an illegitimate relationship, alcohol and any gambling. In addition, in the provinces, the practice of public bodily punishments for guilty are widespread.

Now the code that is not much different from the 2019 project, They approved, and he did not cause such mass protests. The document takes more than 200 pages, and in its full and final versionadopted on December 6, in fact, there are articles punishing for illegitimate (or premarital) relations. The first part of Article 412 of the New Criminal Code of Indonesia reads: "Everyone who lives as a husband and wife outside the marriage must be sentenced to imprisonment for up to six months or a fine." This does not apply to marital treason: for it the next article indicates a more severe punishment - up to a year of prison, if a deceived spouse declared this.

There is a clarification in the Code: parents of one or both lovers can inform about premarital sex. But this is not a prerequisite. Therefore, it is still not clear whether the harsh punishment of unmarried tourists who came on vacation, for example, is on the famous resort island, will touch on. IN previous version There are still no such points of the Code. There, however, there was an article on the punishment for marital treason (Article 284, until nine months of imprisonment). But nothing was said about the illegitimate relations of people who are not connected by obligations. 

The only small inaccuracy was contained in the headlines who told about the ban as a failed event. The Code has not yet been approved by the President of the Republic, and when this formal procedure is completed, three more years of the transition period will come, after which the Code will finally become the current law in Indonesia.

Photo on the cover: Indonesia parliament/Wikimedia Commons

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