94% of women respondents traveling with children (n=208) reported that children face
“On the way to Malaysia other migrants tried to harass me. I even got threatened
dangers during the journey. 40% of women consider the risk of a child experiencing abuse
when I rejected them.”
or a violation to be high. The most commonly reported risks include detention (36%),
24-year-old Rohingya woman, surveyed in Johor Bahru, Malaysia
physical violence (34%), death (29%) and trafficking (23%).
“I would now tell other women not to bring your children with you for boat journeys.
“The journey was not as I expected and not as the smuggler told us. We were at
It was very dangerous for kids. I myself almost lost my baby boy. Thank God we
risk of losing our lives many times. I witnessed people dying of starvation all along
made it safe to Malaysia.”
the way”.
20-year-old Rohingya woman, surveyed in Penang, Malaysia
30-year-old Rohingya woman, surveyed in Penang, Malaysia
77% of Rohingya women surveyed who report protection risks en route considered
Figure 4. Have you personally experienced any such incidents?
smugglers as the main perpetrator, followed by military/police (47%) and border
guards/immigration officers (24%), see Figure 5. This reporting of smugglers as the
main perpetrator of risk is within the context where Rohingya women have to rely on
48%
Physical violence
smugglers to reach Malaysia due to their lack of legal documentation in Myanmar and
Non-physical
violence
18%
Detention
18%
Bangladesh. Furthermore, 46% agreed that they were intentionally misled about the
journey by smugglers.
16%
Sexual violence
15%
Witnessed death
11%
Bribery/extortion
Injury from harsh
conditions
9%
Robbery
9%
Trafficking and
exploitation
Rohingya women (n=468)
Multi-select
3%
2%
Kidnapping
1%
Refused
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
4