Criminalization of Prostitution Clients and Recommendations for Legal Reform in Indonesia

Ratih Mega Puspa Sari; Lusiana Margareth Tijow

doi:10.58829/lp.13.1.2026.379

Authors

Ratih Mega Puspa Sari Universitas Islam Sultan Agung, Semarang, Indonesia
Lusiana Margareth Tijow Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58829/lp.13.1.2026.379

Keywords:

Criminalization, Human Rights Protection, Indonesian Criminal Law, Legal Reform, Prostitution Clients

Abstract

The phenomenon of Prostitution in Indonesia is not merely a moral issue but also a legal problem, as criminal liability disproportionately targets sex workers and pimps while clients largely escape accountability, creating a justice gap and an imbalance within the criminal liability system. This study aims to analyze the necessity of penalizing prostitution clients and to formulate recommendations for criminal law reform that are equitable and grounded in human rights. It employs a normative-juridical research method, utilizing comparative legal analysis and an examination of criminal policy. The findings indicate that penalizing clients can be achieved by expanding the scope of legal subjects under Law Number 21 of 2007 concerning the Eradication of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons and by applying the principle of criminal participation (complicity) as stipulated in Article 55 of the Criminal Code. The “Nordic Model” which focuses on criminalizing clients while protecting sex workers can serve as a model for reforming national criminal policy. Penalizing prostitution clients functions not only as a punitive measure but also as a means of moral and social reconstruction aimed at upholding substantive justice in alignment with the values of Pancasila.

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