The news comes as Indonesia looks set to ban gay sex, with a prison term of up to five years.
Earlier this week it was announced that a bill which would criminalise gay sex had the backing of all 10 of the main political parties. The bill could come into effect before Valentine’s Day.
Lawmaker Arsul Sani – the secretary general of the PPP Party – co-created the new criminal code, and said: “It applies to people of the same gender who have sex, which is basically a forbidden act.
“It’s considered the same as adultery, where men and women having sex outside marriage can be considered a crime.”
And now to further their case, the Indonesian Health Ministry has released two medical reports, one conducted in 2016, and the other one conducted last year.
The 2016 report was conducted by the Indonesia Psychiatrists Association, and reads: “Gays and bisexuals were at risk of emotional problems such as depression owing to identity crises while transsexuals [sic] are susceptible to mental diseases.”
Meanwhile, the 2017 report, which was conducted by the Health Ministry, said that homosexuality was against the “ethos” of the country.
Related: 10 men receive prison sentences for being at a gay sex party in Indonesia
Last month, Indonesia banned gay dating apps, at the time a spokesman for the Communications Ministry said that it was because of “pornographic content.”
Indonesia’s Air Force recently came under fire for stating LGBTQ people can’t serve in the armed forces because of a “mental disorder.”
The controversial statement stemmed from their Air Force’s Twitter account (@_TNIAU), tweeting that soldiers were forbidden from committing immoral acts, which resulted in user RatnaPurba (@ratpruba) questioning: “What about the LGBT?”
They responded: “There is a mental health test in the selection process. LGBT is included as a mental disorder. If there are still many candidate soldiers who are mentally healthy, then why should unhealthy ones be accepted?”
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