Malaysia Lags in Economic Opportunities for Women

A study by Singapore-based Value Champion, the Top Five Safest Country in Asia Pacific for Women found that Malaysia lags in economic opportunities and legal protection for women. Positioned at 10^th out of 14 countries, Malaysia trails behind Vietnam and Thailand, which have been positioned at 8^th and 9^th respectively.

Anastassia Evlanova, an analyst, found that the lengthy court process in Malaysia, along with difficulty in providing evidence is attributed to women under-reporting crimes against them. Evlanova said the legal framework for prosecuting crimes against women are in place but the lengthy process was a deterrent. "Some common crimes against women in Malaysia are the similar, sexual harassment, domestic abuse, discrimination in work place, to other countries." Evlanova also observed that there is a low conviction rate for rape with only around 2.7 per cent conviction for reported cases. Another factor is that women choose not to report crimes against them

Evlanova said police enforcement are raising awareness and taking crimes against women seriously, but have stated that "as long as women are not reporting the crimes, perpetrators will get away and feel emboldened to continue."

The study states that Malaysia also lags in health care. It attributes this to wage discrimination, that is a high wage difference between men and women, and low female employment rate.