Country paper (Malaysia).

This country paper was prepared for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations workshop on the prevention of family violence in May 1993 held in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. It presents information on the nature and extent of family violence particularly marital and child abuse based on official statistics of the Department of Police Department of Social Welfare nongovernmental organizations and reports from the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Team in Malaysia. Moreover this paper presents the program and services undertaken by both government and nongovernmental groups as well as the policies that have been developed to address the problem of family violence. This paper also explored cultural and religious issues associated with this problem. It further cited the existing legislation pertaining to family violence and outlined specific solutions that have been undertaken which include a comprehensive Domestic Violence Act awareness raising establishment of crisis centers telephone counseling campaigns and training programs.