The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
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Latest items for Malaysia

Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: TRAFF-PRACTICE-3

"Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations’ refugee convention, so the girls — who enter the country without permission — are less likely to report their assaults to authorities. Doing so could put them at risk of being thrown into one of Malaysia’s detention centers, which have long been plagued by reports of abuse" (para 24).
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: TRAFF-PRACTICE-2

"She climbed into the trafficker’s car just one day after her parents told her she’d been promised to a man in Malaysia. She didn’t know his name, hadn’t seen his picture. In the car were several other girls headed to Malaysia for marriage. M was frightened. She’d heard stories of traffickers raping girls along the route. For a week, they drove and walked through the jungles of Myanmar and south into Thailand. After crossing into Malaysia, they stopped at a house. Four of the trafficker’s friends arrived and each selected a girl, telling them that they would drive them to their fiancé’s homes. Instead, M says, the man who chose...more
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: TRAFF-DATA-1

"Deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh’s refugee camps are driving scores of underage Rohingya girls to Malaysia for arranged marriages with Rohingya men who frequently abuse them, The Associated Press found in interviews with 12 young Rohingya brides who have arrived in Malaysia since 2022. The youngest was 13. All the girls interviewed by the AP said they are held hostage by controlling husbands who rarely let them outside. Several said they were beaten and raped by traffickers and other men during the journey to Malaysia, and five said they were abused by their husbands. Half the girls are pregnant or already have babies, despite most saying they...more
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: PW-DATA-1

"When M returned to her husband, she learned he was already married with two children" (para 60).
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: NGOFW-DATA-1

"'There are really a lot of Rohingyas coming in to get married,' says Nasha Nik, executive director of the Rohingya Women Development Network, which has worked with hundreds of child brides since it was founded in 2016. Inside the organization’s small office in Kuala Lumpur, there are toys for the girls’ babies, stacks of educational kits about gender-based violence and a row of sewing machines where women and girls learn to make jewelry and other crafts they sell to help support themselves" (para 21-22).
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: MARR-PRACTICE-5

"The grooms in Malaysia forfeit dowries and often send money to the brides’ parents" (para 29).
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: MARR-PRACTICE-1

"In a bedroom in Malaysia that has become a prison, the 14-year-old girl wipes away tears as she sits cross-legged on the concrete floor. It is here, she says, where her 35-year-old husband rapes her nearly every night. Last year, the Rohingya girl sacrificed herself to save her family, embarking on a terrifying journey from her homeland of Myanmar to a country she had never seen, to marry a man she had never met. It wasn’t her choice. None of this was. Not the decision to leave behind everything she knew, nor the arranged marriage for which she was not ready. But her family, she says, was impoverished, hungry and...more
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: MABFC-DATA-1

"Deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh’s refugee camps are driving scores of underage Rohingya girls to Malaysia for arranged marriages with Rohingya men who frequently abuse them, The Associated Press found in interviews with 12 young Rohingya brides who have arrived in Malaysia since 2022. The youngest was 13. All the girls interviewed by the AP said they are held hostage by controlling husbands who rarely let them outside. Several said they were beaten and raped by traffickers and other men during the journey to Malaysia, and five said they were abused by their husbands. Half the girls are pregnant or already have babies, despite most saying they...more
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: LRW-DATA-1

"In a bedroom in Malaysia that has become a prison, the 14-year-old girl wipes away tears as she sits cross-legged on the concrete floor. It is here, she says, where her 35-year-old husband rapes her nearly every night" (para 1). "Deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh’s refugee camps are driving scores of underage Rohingya girls to Malaysia for arranged marriages with Rohingya men who frequently abuse them, The Associated Press found in interviews with 12 young Rohingya brides who have arrived in Malaysia since 2022. The youngest was 13. All the girls interviewed by the AP said they are held hostage by controlling husbands who rarely let them...more
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-2

"When M returned to her husband, she learned he was already married with two children. She had no power to object to the situation, or to the beatings, cruel taunts and rapes she regularly endures. She said nothing about the abuse to her parents, lest they blame themselves, and lest her husband stop sending them 300 ringgit ($64) a month" (para 60).
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: DV-DATA-1

"In a bedroom in Malaysia that has become a prison, the 14-year-old girl wipes away tears as she sits cross-legged on the concrete floor. It is here, she says, where her 35-year-old husband rapes her nearly every night" (para 1). "Deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh’s refugee camps are driving scores of underage Rohingya girls to Malaysia for arranged marriages with Rohingya men who frequently abuse them, The Associated Press found in interviews with 12 young Rohingya brides who have arrived in Malaysia since 2022. The youngest was 13. All the girls interviewed by the AP said they are held hostage by controlling husbands who rarely let them...more
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: CWC-DATA-3

"Deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh’s refugee camps are driving scores of underage Rohingya girls to Malaysia for arranged marriages with Rohingya men who frequently abuse them, The Associated Press found in interviews with 12 young Rohingya brides who have arrived in Malaysia since 2022. The youngest was 13" (para 9). "Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations’ refugee convention, so the girls — who enter the country without permission — are less likely to report their assaults to authorities. Doing so could put them at risk of being thrown into one of Malaysia’s detention centers, which have long been plagued by reports of abuse" (para...more
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: AOM-PRACTICE-1

"Deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh’s refugee camps are driving scores of underage Rohingya girls to Malaysia for arranged marriages with Rohingya men who frequently abuse them, The Associated Press found in interviews with 12 young Rohingya brides who have arrived in Malaysia since 2022. The youngest was 13" (para 9). "When asked if they had protested their parents’ decisions to marry them off, they appeared confused. 'This was my only way out,' says 16-year-old F, still haunted by her memories of Myanmar, where in 2017 she watched as soldiers burned her house, raped her neighbors and fatally shot her aunt. In the years that followed, so frequent...more
Dec. 11, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: AOM-DATA-2

"Because these girls live on the fringes of the fringe, accurate statistics on how many live in Malaysia do not exist. But local advocates who work with the girls say they have seen a spike in arrivals over the past two years. 'There are really a lot of Rohingyas coming in to get married,' says Nasha Nik, executive director of the Rohingya Women Development Network, which has worked with hundreds of child brides since it was founded in 2016" (para 20-21).
Dec. 4, 2024, 4:42 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: SEGI-PRACTICE-1, SEGI-PRACTICE-2

"The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is always looking for avenues to bring the much-needed change to end child marriages in the country, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri. The minister said although it was an uphill task, the ministry was not willing to give up on the issue" (par. 1-2).
Dec. 4, 2024, 4:42 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: AOM-PRACTICE-1

"The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is always looking for avenues to bring the much-needed change to end child marriages in the country, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri. The minister said although it was an uphill task, the ministry was not willing to give up on the issue" (par. 1-2). '"We can continue to push and pressure but they can also ask ‘who are you to tell us what to do’, but as I have said situation differs for each state with their own culture,” she said when asked about the efforts to end child marriage in the country' [Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri]" (par. 5).
Dec. 4, 2024, 4:42 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: NGOFW-DATA-3

"Earlier in her speech, she said they were committed to listening and empowering children, which was further strengthened through impactful initiatives like the Child Safety Advocacy Programme 'KASIH Kanak-Kanak.' This programme, led by the Welfare Department (JKM), has been a cornerstone of our child protection efforts, she said. 'Through school outreach programs, JKM has educated children on their rights, safe and unsafe touch, and what to do in unsafe situations. 'This year, the program has reached 326 schools and over 170,000 (173,279) participants nationwide, surpassing its target of 300 schools. States such as Kedah, Melaka, and Terengganu have exceeded their targets, reflecting a strong commitment to child safety across the...more
Dec. 4, 2024, 4:42 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: AOM-LAW-1

“'Although there are two states (Kedah and Selangor) who have amended their state constitution (against child marriage), but I am unsure how far they are being executed' [Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri]" (par. 4).
Dec. 4, 2024, 4:38 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: PW-LAW-1

"Polygyny legal up to four wives, but only for Muslims. Requires court permission" (para 18).
Aug. 26, 2024, 12:57 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-5

"'However, it is no longer a secret that these immoral activities are occurring. Some areas, like Pudu and certain streets such as Lorong Haji Taib, are even recognised as prostitution hotspots.'...He added is was disheartening that some individuals are willing to accept bribes from prostitution syndicates, effectively turning a blind eye to these activities."
Aug. 10, 2024, 2:57 a.m.
Countries: Burundi, Ghana, Malaysia, Rwanda, Swaziland
Variables: MULTIVAR-SCALE-6

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July 3, 2024, 2:58 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-1

"However, one of the ironical things about Malaysia, with its conservative Islamic leaning, is that the fleshtrade is thriving, as is the casual sex scene" (para 1). "Deeper underground, according to a documentary, there are many underage girls forcibly held in secret brothels and pubs in Malaysia. According to reports, many of these girls have been sold or kidnapped from their countries and have been to be brought into the country due to lax border enforcement of people smuggling" (para 13).
July 3, 2024, 2:58 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-5

"Although prostitution is illegal in Malaysia, it is open for all to see today on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, with little apparent enforcement. However, even with the few police and immigration operations that are going on, huge numbers of prostitutes are being rounded up. Last year, over 6,000 Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese prostitutes were rounded up in a three month period alone. According to the Havoscope Global Black Market Information website, the size of the Malaysian prostitution industry is calculated at USD963.8 Million, or RM 3.68 Billion" (para 3).
July 3, 2024, 2:58 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: IRP-DATA-3

"The sex industry was once the domain of local prostitutes, but this has almost totally changed over the last decade. Foreign prostitutes from China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia have swamped the locals, and now predominate" (para 6).
May 23, 2024, 10:12 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: TRAFF-LAW-1

"The 2007 Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act, as amended, criminalized labor trafficking and sex trafficking and prescribed punishments of three to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine, which were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other serious offenses, such as rape." (3). "An amendment to the Employment Act of 1955 took effect on January 1, 2023, which added a provision criminalizing forced labor offenses by employers used threats of intimidation, restriction of movement, or fraud to induce labor or services. The law prescribed penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of 100,000 Malaysian ringgit (RM) ($22,730), or...more
May 9, 2024, 12:17 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: IRP-LAW-1

Is selling sex criminalised? Selling sex itself is legal although associated activities are criminalised, such as soliciting for the purposes of 'prostitution', which is criminalised under Article 372B of the Penal Code. There is also an offence against "prostitutes behaving in a disorderly or indecent manner in or near any public road or in any place of public resort" and other public order offences that can be used against sex workers in the Minor Offences Act 1955. There are also state level Sharia laws that apply to Muslim citizens, zina (adultery) and khalwat (being alone with someone of opposite sex who is not spouse or relative) - these can be...more
May 9, 2024, 12:02 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-2

“We do quarrel over money such that having enough money but I don’t think it is a major problem. When we quarrel, my wife usually gives way…men are usually more ill-tempered so women should learn to give in. In Malay culture, men have more power…if she goes against me, it is disrespect and if she does it all the time, I will find someone else and divorce her” (5). “The second observation made is that apart from money, marital power is affected by more influential factors such as ideologies and religious teachings…Consequently, having more money does not necessarily mean having more control over the decision-making process as decision making in...more
April 12, 2024, 5:41 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: CLCW-PRACTICE-1

"[T]he lack of citizenship sets up hurdles in [women's] daily lives, including hospital visits and schooling, with the latter costing exorbitant sum for non-citizens compared to the token 1ringgit ( US cents) for citizens" (para 17).
April 12, 2024, 5:41 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: CLCW-LAW-1

"[Malaysia is] allowing foreign-born children to Malaysian mothers and their non-Malaysian spouse to automatically get citizenship" (para 1).
April 12, 2024, 5:41 p.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: CLCC-PRACTICE-1

"[T]he lack of citizenship sets up hurdles in [the] daily lives [of women and their children], including hospital visits and schooling, with the latter costing exorbitant sum for non-citizens compared to the token 1ringgit ( US cents) for citizens" (para 17).