Click here to visit the

Microsite

Monitoring Report: LGBTIQ+ Rights in Malaysia

Monitoring Report: LGBTIQ+ Rights in Malaysia

{pods_resources_highlights}
Resources
/Reports/
Monitoring Report: LGBTIQ+ Rights in Malaysia

Criminalisation

Legal Gender Recognition

January 1, 2021

This report provides findings of a baseline study to contribute to the implementation of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) concluding observations in Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Terengganu.


Guided by the recommendations, the baseline report and monitoring project focuses on four key areas:

  • Criminalisation and legal barriers faced by LGBTIQ persons;
  • State-led anti-LGBTIQ activities and policies;
  • Protection in relation to discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ persons in the areas of healthcare, employment, education, gender-based violence, and human rights defenders (HRD);
  • Media narratives and representation of LGBTIQ persons.

In 2018, Malaysia came under review for CEDAW and UPR. The CEDAW concluding observations and UPR recommendations related to LGBTIQ persons can be summarized into these 3 categories:

ThemeAction Points/Recommendations
Laws1. Amend laws that discriminate LGBTI persons;

2. Allow for recognition of the gender of trans persons;

3. Introduce anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBTI persons from mistreatment and violence.
State Policies1. Amend laws that discriminate LGBTI persons;

2. Discontinue measures which aim to “correct” or “rehabilitate” LGBTI women;

3. Development of public awareness programs
Education4. Adopt anti-bullying policies in schools;

5. Undertake awareness-raising measures to foster equal rights for LBTI students

Each section of the report will provide an overview of the issues followed by specific context at the state level. The report specifies the areas of discrimination that will be monitored—employment, education, healthcare—in order to unpack and deepen the understanding of discrimination experienced by LGBTIQ persons.

Publication date
April 2023

Organisation
Justice for Sisters

Writers, editors, researchers & designers
E Cheah, thilaga sulathireh, Sulastri Ariffin, Nicole Fong, and Nicolette Mallari