people. The 2023 ‘Intersex or Khunsa (Protection of Rights) Act,’ intended by the Pakistani Senate to address the shortcomings of the 2018 legislation, highlights lawmakers’ limited understanding of both intersex and trans issues. The new law criminalizes all gender-affirming care for transgender and intersex individuals, as well as gender variance and transgender identities, while also denying protections for those experiencing gender dysphoria.92 In Sri Lanka, recent attempts to decriminalize same-sex sexual conduct have been met with societal backlash, with arguments made to “protect children’’ from LGBTQI+ and in service of “culture” through a petition submitted by citizens in April 2022.93 This rhetoric of “protecting children” is a thinly veiled weapon in homophobic and transphobic discourses, used to justify discrimination, with the aim of perpetuating fear and division by reinforcing harmful stereotypes that LGBTQI+ individuals are a threat to societal norms and the innocence of youth. IN INDONESIA, 2016, PROVINCIAL AUTHORITIES INSTITUTED TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO EQUIP THEM TO FIGHT THE PROXY WARS AND OTHER PERCEIVED SOCIAL THREATS THAT THE NATION IS FACING, INCLUDING “COMMUNISM, DRUGS AND HOMOSEXUALITY”. In Indonesia, 2016, provincial authorities instituted training programmes for law enforcement agencies to equip them to fight the proxy wars and other perceived social threats that the nation is facing, including “communism, drugs and homosexuality”.94 The Southeast Asian LGBTQI+ human rights activist network, ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, has called out Indonesia’s recent Broadcasting bill as a threat to freedom of the press, expression, and the rights of sexual and gender diverse persons.95 The Broadcasting Bill seeks to define and enforce moral norms. Specifically, the bill includes provisions that prohibit broadcasting 92 Ibid. 93 Arachchi, K. S. (2023). Will Sri Lanka Decriminalize Same-Sex Relations? Groundviews. https://groundviews. org/2023/05/05/will-sri-lanka-decriminalize-same-sex-relations/ 94 Human Rights Watch. (2016). These political games ruin our lives”: Indonesia’s LGBT community under threat. Human Rights Watch, 11 August. https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/08/11/these-political-games-ruin-our-lives/indonesias-lgbt-community-under-threat 95 ASEAN SOGIE Caucus. (2024). The Indonesia Broadcasting Bill: A threat to Freedom of Press and Expression https://aseansogiecaucus.org/statements/asc-statements/216-the-indonesia-broadcasting-bill-a-threat-to-freedom-ofpress-and-expression 34