Justice For Sisters: ‘Caning for consensual sex acts is a form of torture against lesbian women’

In Malaysia, on 12 August 2018, judge Kamalruazmi Ismail sentenced two women to caning for ‘attempted sexual relations,’ says Justice For Sisters.

Justice For Sisters, a Malaysian trangender rights campaign, said in a joint statement on August 13 that the punishment ‘amounts to torture’ and must be immediately ceased.

The women, aged 22 and 32, were arrested together in a car, according to a local news source, Sinarharian. Their caning is scheduled to be carried out on August 28; meanwhile, they have been released on bail for RM 1,500 and can be imprisoned for four months if they fail to pay the RM 3,300 fine, which was part of the punishment.

According to the judge, the punishment of the lesbian women will serve as ‘a lesson and reminder’ to the society, which Justice For Sisters called prejudicial and an unfair exploitation of the individuals,’ dangerously allow[ing] for the abuse of power’ and ‘perpetuating injustices.’

The statement adds that the sentence is ‘a gross violation of their dignity and human rights as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution, international human rights treaties that Malaysia has ratified and international laws.’ Caning by state officials meted out as punishment is a form of torture according to Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture.

‘The arbitrary arrest and the punishment meted out for consensual sex between adults violate multiple human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), including Article 1 (the right to live with dignity), Article 5 (the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment), Article 12 (right to privacy), Article 13 (freedom of movement),’ the statement adds.

‘Criminalization of consensual sex between adults is a gross violation of human rights, and Malaysia has been called to review and repeal laws that criminalise LGBTQ persons based on consensual sexual acts in many international human rights fora. Consensual sex acts between adults is not a crime.’

The statement can be found here: https://justiceforsisters.wordpress.com/2018/08/13/caning-for-consensual-sex-acts-is-a-form-of-torture-against-lesbian-women/

For Farsi visit: http://6rang.org/7781

 

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