Malaysian boys sent to de-homofication camp

Press statement issued by the Department of Women, Family and Community Development on Besut bootcamp being in violation of Child Act 2001

The Ministry views with alarm and great concern the act of sending 66 schoolboys with effeminate tendencies to a camp with the aim of correcting their behaviour.

The experience of being singled out on the basis of perceived characteristics is an extremely traumatizing experience, in particular for adolescent teens. Such profiling has potentially serious psychological repercussions and could harm the development and mental health of the children, as it exposes them to prejudices among their peers and members of their family and community.

We believe that such boot camps must be abolished on the basis that they are harmful and do not serve the best interest of the child, and are therefore in clear violation of the Child Act 2001, for which the preamble provides that:

Every child is entitled to protection and assistance in all circumstances without regard to distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, social origin or physical, mental or emotional disabilities or any other status.