Study Reveals Malaysia as the Second Worst Country for Trans Rights in 2023

In time for Pride Month, travel and family journalism website Asher&Lyric has unveiled its Global Trans Rights Index study, which revealed that Malaysia is the second most dangerous country for transgender rights for 2023.

The study reviewed laws and policies as well as analysed international data from countries all over the world to determine the safest and worst countries for the transgender community. The countries were rated in categories such as worker protection, protection against discrimination, criminalisation of violence, transgender legal laws, and trans murder rates to identify the ranking.

According to the study, one of the most common issues in the country for trans people is how they face hindrances and targeting by the police. It also states that Malaysia has no policies for protecting trans workers, and for protecting them against discrimination and violence.

Moreover, the study revealed that the country has 0.5 trans murders per million from the year 2008 up to 2022. Ultimately, Malaysia scored a -105 global trans rights index, just 11 points shy from the “worst” country for transgenders, Guyana.

Meanwhile, the five “safest” countries for the transgender community, as the study unveiled, were Malta, Portugal, Canada, Sweden, and Bolivia.