An Indonesian mayor's planned crackdown on his city's LGBT community, including through the use of police raids and a so-called "crisis centre", has spread fear and outrage among local sexuality- and gender-diverse people and their supporters.

Key points: The crackdown comes after a high-profile rape case in the UK involving an Indonesian student

The crackdown comes after a high-profile rape case in the UK involving an Indonesian student There are plans for raids on the homes of LGBT people and the places they frequent

There are plans for raids on the homes of LGBT people and the places they frequent Homosexuality is mostly not illegal in Indonesia, but LGBT people face growing hostility

The controversial decision comes after the sentencing of Indonesian student Reynhard Sinaga in the UK, who authorities there have dubbed "the most prolific rapist in British legal history" after he was convicted of 136 rapes against men.

Sinaga was originally from Depok, a city on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta.

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Now, Depok Mayor Mohammad Idris is planning to order raids on the residences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, according to a statement posted last week on the city's official website.

The Mayor also said the town would establish a rehabilitative centre to assist "victims" in the LGBT community — but little is known about what would go on at the centre, with local media reporting the centre may seek to "re-educate" LGBT people and their supporters.

Sinaga was sentenced to life in prison for assaulting 48 men who he drugged. ( AP: Greater Manchester Police )

"The increase in prevention efforts is to strengthen family resilience, especially protection of children," Mr Idris said in the statement.

Indonesia's human rights commission has since condemned the plan, saying it would "increase the risk of persecution and other law-defying acts" against sexual and gender minorities.

Here's what you need to know.

What is the mayor's plan?

Police raids, like those that have occurred in Jakarta in the past, are part of the proposal. ( Reuters: Beawiharta, file )

The Public Order Agency will be instructed to raid places like shopping malls, boarding houses and apartments, according to the BBC, who spoke with the Mayor about the proposal.

They would subsequently be offered some form of religious counselling.

"If they claim to be LGBT and ask for help wanting to get out of that circle, we do some sort of recovery or advice," Mr Idris told the BBC.

According to media reports in Indonesia, this would be done through what the mayor has termed an LGBT "crisis centre", which would also be open to people who support sexuality- and gender-diverse people.

Mr Idris told the BBC he considered being gay to being like "a virus" that could "spread".

Homosexuality is only a criminal offence in Indonesia's Aceh province, however police elsewhere still target the LGBT community. ( ABC News: Adam Harvey )

Homosexuality is not regulated by law in Indonesia, except in Aceh province where Islamic law bans same-sex relations, but the world's largest Muslim-majority nation has seen a rise in hostility toward the LGBT community.

Last year, Indonesia's national police and military said being LGBT was an "emergency and a disease", and recent raids on transgender beauty salons have forced many women to give up their livelihoods.

A police raid at a gay club in Jakarta in May 2017 saw more than 100 men arrested, while a raid on a gay sauna in the capital later that year led to 58 arrests.

As homosexuality is not illegal outside Aceh province, police elsewhere often charge LGBT people under anti-pornography laws.

Asfinawati from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, who goes by one name, said the plan would not prevent rapists like Sinaga from committing crimes in Depok, and would instead foster public hatred towards LGBT groups.

"Perpetrators of sexual violence can be anyone with any sexual orientation," she said.

"Idris must learn from history that many genocides in this world started with hatred towards certain groups."

What's the response been?

Mommy Yuli (left) from Depok believes the local community will protect her from any planned raids. ( Supplied )

The ABC spoke to several Depok residents about their views on the proposed crackdown.

Mommy Yuli, a transgender woman, said her community was not worried about the Mayor's plan — she believes the local community will protect them.

"I still believe that people around us will help and protect us if the raids occur," she said.

As a founder of a nursing home for transgender people, Mommy Yuli said her community mingled very well with the wider society in Depok.

She said LGBT people never break any laws, and show good manners as citizens.

"We still have the same rights to be protected, just like other people, unless if we violate crimes," she said, suggesting the Mayor should focus on "other more serious problems" in the city.

Adji, who declined to give his full name due to his sexuality, said the plan to raid places where LGBT people meet was "ridiculous".

"What is wrong with that? We are socialising with others," he said.

"If they think that we are going to misbehave or hold sex parties, then they also need to do the same thing with the straight people."

Like Mommy Yuli, others the ABC spoke to also said the Mayor should be tackling more important issues, like traffic jams and waste management.

Audi Manaf said she was concerned the mayor's plan would cause problems for LGBT people. ( Supplied )

Another transgender woman in Depok, Audi Manaf, said the LGBT community never experienced any "friction" in their ordinary lives, and said she was worried the Mayor's plan would create new problems

"This policy will legalise discriminatory raids and it means the state fails to protect the minorities," she said.

Arif Harahap, a heterosexual Depok local, said he condemned the plan because it would potentially discredit LGBT groups — he said even though homosexuality was not accepted from a religious perspective, it was a private matter.

However the criticism was not universal: Dian Suprapto told the ABC that even though she considered the raids to go against human rights, she welcomed the plan for her hometown.

"LGBT people have their rights, but also us parents, and our kids," she said, adding that she was worried her children would become gay.

ABC/Reuters