A Global Trans Right Index has found Malaysia the second worst country in the world regarding transgender rights.
Based on an index put together by researcher couple Asher and Lyric Fergusson, only Guyana fares worse than Malaysia, while Saudi Arabia, Malawi and the UAE round off the bottom five.
The study’s methodology awarded or deducted points based on protections for LGBTQ+ workers, legal protections against discrimination, criminalisation of hate-based violence, transgender legal identity laws, and transgender murder rates.
The points were based on reports by the International International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the “Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide” study by Transgender Europe.
All aspects are given equal weight, except for trans murder rates and trans legal identity laws, which were given double weightage.
Using this point system, Malaysia scored -105 and the highest danger rating of F.
Guyana was ranked as the worst country for the community because there are high numbers of murders of trans persons.
“(Aside from Guyana), Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Malawi, and the United Arab Emirates are the worst countries for trans people.
“None of them have any worker, discrimination, and criminalisation protections, and ‘cross-dressing’ is criminalised with penalties up to imprisonment in eight of the top 10 worst countries for trans people,” the study said.
A summary of Malaysia indicated that trans persons face obstacles in the country and are targeted by the police,
The best five countries in the world for the transgender community were listed as Malta, Portugal, Canada, Sweden and Bolivia.
Malaysia’s Asean neighbours generally did much better, with Thailand ranking 66, Singapore 109th, Indonesia 115th and Brunei 192nd. – Malaysiakini