The rights of LGBT people are on the chopping block across the world, with new countries criminalizing same-sex practices and banning representation of queer relationships in 2025. However, the landscape for LGBT rights has also shifted tremendously towards progress over the past decades. What gives?

This week, we explore the texture of progress for LGBT rights. As Indonesia prepares for a new Criminal Code that will outlaw same-sex relations, prominent local advocate Dédé Oetomo charts the trajectory of LGBT rights from cultural openness to increasing repression. Indonesia’s path illustrates a pattern of both forward movement and backtracking on the rights of LGBT people across the globe.

Dédé Oetomo: Scholar and activist

Kyle Knight: Associate Director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch

Phillip Ayoub: Professor in the Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy at University College London