Martial Arts Expert Breaks Lover Out Of Sexual Orientation Classes

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According to an article in the Jakarta Globe, police are investigating a case in which a martial arts expert was able to break her (underage) lover out of protective custody—where she was being “cured” of her attraction to women.

Tn,15, began taking martial arts lessons with her taekwondo teacher, Sj, 26, two years ago. Over time the two grew close, yet it appears that no one became suspicious of the pair’s friendship until Tn decided to leave home for a month in order to live with Sj.

Upon (Tn) returning home this past July, her parents asked the National Commission for Child Protection to take their daughter into protective custody to undergo sexual orientation therapy—hoping that her illness could be ”cured.”

Sj discovered the location where Tn was being held and was able to remove her without the security officers noticing.

Arist Merdeka Sirait (Komnas Anak chairman) urged the police to find (and arrest) Sj for abducting a child. The two have been missing since September 17th.

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This could just be me speaking from an American-liberal-uninformed about Indonesian culture-point of view, but I found this story to somewhat inspiring. (If you read the full story on the Jakarta Globe) Tn actually admitted to falling in love with Sj, so I think the act of Sj rescuing her from the therapy was semi-heroic/romantic.

Although the age difference of 11 years seems significant now, would it be considered as drastic if the two had fallen for each other later on down the road (i.e. 25 and 36, rather than 15 and 26)? And looking at the big picture, who has the right to say that having an attraction to women is something that needs to be “cured.”

Anyways, I’m rambling now. A special thanks to Jeana Jorgensen for bringing this to attention, hope all found this as interesting as I did.

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About Madeline Haller

Madeline Haller

Madeline Haller is an Assistant Editor for MensHealth.com. Haller received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Indiana University, with a second concentration in gender studies. When she's not writing for MSP/MH, you can find her running, enjoying a cup of coffee, or searching for the perfect shade of red lipstick.

  • http://bloketoys.co.uk Mens Sex Toys

    I completely agree, it is heroic and romantic. We have to consider that the legal age for marriage in Indonesia is 16. That’s also the legal age for consensual sex. But even considering this legality, there is no clarity that there was evidence that sexual activity was taking place, therefore the idea that the younger girl needed protecting is clearly due to homophobia IMO.

    It’s a classic case of homophobic parents abusing the legal and governmental systems to enforce their beliefs.

    Personally, I hope that they escape and survive without capture for a year or two, then the younger partner will be of legal age and her parents can do nothing about their daughters relationship.
    Of course, I have no doubt that if they did resurface once that age has been reached, they’ll probably try to charge her with kidnapping while claiming their daughter was “mentally ill”.

    Interesting story though. I’m certainly rooting for them.

  • http://twitter.com/foxyfolklorist Jeana Jorgensen

    I’m glad you decided to do a write-up on the article! I agree, it does seem to be a heroic/inspiring story–depending on where you’re coming from. I recently read a short story about an interracial couple in the South who moved to California to escape the prejudice of their community, and it seems like a parallel event: X’s love for Y is deemed unacceptable by many surrounding them at the time, but for those who are open-minded about X/Y pairings, it’s a beautiful–if tragic due to the oppression–narrative.