TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Several Facebook posts [archive] link the surge in cases of human immunodeficiency virus, which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
"Data shows that the largest contributor to HIV is the LGBT community. It's reasonable to classify them as a non-military threat to the state," wrote one account on Monday, July 13, 2026.
These social media narratives not only cite nationwide-scale data but also link the LGBT community to the rise of HIV/AIDS cases in a number of regions. For example, in Sidoarjo, Malang, Probolinggo, Samarinda, Balikpapan, Palu, and Tarakan. Other posts also cite data from West Java and West Sumbawa.
But is it true that the surge in HIV/AIDS cases is caused by the LGBT community?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified this claim by reviewing national HIV/AIDS data, comparing it with credible sources, and interviewing researchers in related fields. The results showed that sexual orientation is not the cause of HIV/AIDS transmission. The disease is transmitted through risky sexual behavior and the use of unsafe needles.
Sexual orientation is one's enduring emotional, sexual, and/or romantic attraction. Sexual orientation falls on a broad spectrum, ranging from exclusively heterosexual to homosexual and bisexual. Heterosexuality refers to attraction to the opposite sex, homosexuality refers to attraction to the same sex, and bisexuality refers to attraction to more than one gender.
Meanwhile, sexual behavior is any form of behavior based on sexual desire, whether with the opposite sex or the same sex. Sexual behavior is considered risky if it has the potential to transmit HIV/AIDS.
LGBT Is Not a Contributor to HIV/AIDS Cases
According to Ministry of Health data released in June 2025, Indonesia ranks 14th globally for the number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and 9th for new HIV infections. It is estimated that there are around 564,000 PLHIV, but only 63 percent are aware of their health status.
The Executive Director of the Indonesia AIDS Coalition (IAC), Aditya Wardhana, reckoned that the data does not entirely indicate an increase in the number of cases, but rather improvements in case-finding interventions. Many undetected cases can be recorded after access to screening services is improved.
"This case finding cannot be associated with a specific group because all target groups show improvements in case finding," Aditya said via WhatsApp message on Saturday, July 4, 2026.
Aditya believed the government has been very lax in their efforts for HIV/AIDS, with misplaced program focus leading to a growing stigma against minority groups. The government is more focused on budget absorption figures than program quality.
"If no changes are made, don't blame the public for having erroneous and negative opinions about HIV prevention programs and stigmatizing certain groups," said Aditya.
Citing Yayasaan Kemitraan Indonesia Sehat (YKIS), members of the LGBT community were initially deemed the group most at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. However, data on the percentage of HIV/AIDS cases based on risk factors in 2019 showed that heterosexuals actually accounted for 70 percent of cases.
The rise in cases is due to shared syringes and perinatal transmission, or transmission from pregnant people to their fetus. This finding is supported by data published by the Ministry of Health in 2023, reporting that HIV/AIDS cases were dominated by stay-at-home wives, with 5,100 cases (35 percent).
However, in the latest Ministry of Health data, the stay-at-home wives category has been removed from the national HIV/AIDS data. The Head of the Ministry of Health's HIV Task Force, Tiersa Vera Junita, said the category is now integrated into the category of couples living with HIV to better reflect the vulnerability of virus transmission in heterosexual relationships.
Further data was provided by the Director of Immunization at the Ministry of Health, Prima Yosephine, in a Bloomberg Technoz report. By 2025, couples living with HIV, sex workers, and children of parents living with HIV were the categories with the highest positivity rates.
Couples living with HIV refer to husbands or wives of people confirmed HIV-positive. Ministry of Health research on 9,709 husbands or wives of people already registered as HIV-positive showed that 34 percent were infected with HIV from their partners.
Among sex workers, out of 22,454 tests, 4,471 individuals, or approximately 20 percent, were found to be infected with HIV. Tests were also conducted on children of HIV-positive individuals. Of the 4,254 tests, 728 children, or 17 percent, were infected by their parents.
Sexual Behavior Differs from Sexual Orientation
The Ministry of Health does include men who have sex with men (MSM) as a risk group for HIV/AIDS. According to HIV Info, some sexual behaviors, such as unprotected sex and anal sex—which can be practiced by both homosexuals and heterosexuals—and having multiple partners can increase the risk of transmission.
Laura Nevendorff, a reproductive health researcher at the Burnet Institute in Australia, stated that sexual orientation is not the cause of HIV transmission, but rather sexual behavior. According to her, homosexual individuals do not necessarily always engage in sex with the same gender, nor do they exclusively have multiple partners.
"Sexual orientation has nothing to do with behavior. It doesn't necessarily mean they (LGBT) are HIV-positive," Laura said by phone on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. She also noted that HIV transmission can also occur through perinatal transmission and blood transfusions. Therefore, both heterosexuals and homosexuals can be infected.
Stigma Complicates Treatment
The 2017 Country Review on HIV Response by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed a fivefold increase in the percentage of HIV cases found among key MSM populations since 2011. However, heterosexual transmission remained the primary contributor to new cases (76 percent) through the third quarter of 2016.
The WHO stated that national and regional regulations often hinder access to HIV services for key populations such as sex workers, transgender women, MSM, and people who use drug injections. These regulations actually further limit access and increase stigma and violence, including political debates about sexual orientation and gender identity.
"[Indonesia] should consider comprehensive efforts to eliminate the stigma and discrimination experienced by PLHIV, key populations and women, first and foremost in the health sector, and apply a rights-based response to HIV," the report read.
However, President Prabowo Subianto instead issued Presidential Regulation Number 111 of 2025 concerning the General Policy for National Defense 2025-2029, which lists the spread of LGBT culture as a non-military threat.
This regulation could hamper HIV/AIDS management due to the stigma against the LGBT community. Laura believed that the narrative linking LGBT people to HIV/AIDS is promoted by homophobic groups to justify their views.
"Homophobes need a reason to justify their hatred. One of them is the spread of disease," said Laura Nevendorff.
CONCLUSION
Tempo concluded that the narrative blaming LGBT people for the surge in HIV cases is false.
TEMPO FACT CHECK TEAM
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