General
Can underage girls buy contraceptives in Malaysia?
Not published yet ago Denise C.Penal Code – section 312
https://www.rraam.org/law-policy/health-policy/
https://www.rraam.org/law-policy/professional-codes/medical-ethics-code/
http://rraamalaysia.hypermart.net/rraam/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MMA_medicalethicscode.pdf
https://www.rraam.org/issues/access-to-contraception-abortion/
https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/health/2013/04/07/emergency-contraception/
At last estimate, experts predict that about 18,000 underage girls get pregnant in Malaysia yearly. There has always been a certain taboo around sex education in Malaysia, with strong feelings on either side of the argument. With that being said, contraceptives are readily available in Malaysia. This ranges from your run of the mill condoms in convenience stores up to more advanced methods such as the hormonal implant.
However, the question that we’re going to look at today is whether or not underage girls (minors) can legally buy contraceptives in Malaysia. Before we tackle that question, let’s take a look at why this question popped up in the first place.
Some of you may be familiar with what is known as statutory rape. This is found in section 375(g) of the Penal Cod where it is rape if a man has sex with a girl under sixteen years old. This is so even if the girl gives her consent:
“A man is said to commit “rape”...sexual intercourse with a woman...with or without her consent, when she is under sixteen years of age.”
This essentially means that it is technically illegal for a girl who is under 16 years old to have sex. Now, we brought this issue up because someone asked us a very interesting question of can underage girls purchase contraceptives in Malaysia?
If we are moving based on logic and the criminalisation of statutory rape, the only answer should be no, minors are not allowed to buy contraceptives. However, to throw in another wrench into this problem, let’s look at the definition of minors. According to the Age of Majority Act 1971, a minor is someone who is below 18 years of age. This means that a girl above the age of 16 but under the age of 18, would be able to consent to sex as a minor...but once again, where does this leave them and buying contraceptives?
Now that we’ve explain why contraceptives for underage girls might be an issue, let’s look at what the law says.
It depends on what kind of contraception
To make it clear, there are many kinds of contraceptives. Some of them, like condoms, are readily available in any convenience store. Others like the birth control pills, morning after pills, IUD, and so on may require a doctor’s visit to obtain (or a pharmacist, at the least).
ASKLEGAL spoke to Dr. Subatra from Klinik Rakyat who told us that:
“Condoms are easily accessible and can be bought by anyone. However, when it comes to birth control pills and/or the morning after pill, it falls under dispensation of medication and minors would need permission from their parents or spouse to purchase it.” – Dr. Subatra
Dr. Subatra then explained that when it comes to dispensing medication to minors, reference has to be made to the Child Act 2001 ("CA 2001"). Technically speaking, the dispensation of these birth control and morning after pills counts as medical treatment and therefore, in order to dispense those pills, Dr. Subatra explains that consent from the parent or guardian of the child is needed.
This means that even if a girl is over 16 and is legally allowed to have sex, she has to obtain permission from her parent/guardian if she wants to use contraceptives (other than condoms) as she is still considered a minor.
The one loophole in this law is...if the child is married. If the child is married, then the permission of the husband is needed for them to purchase contraceptives. With that being said…
Sex education is pretty crucial
Recently, experts estimate that about 18,000 underage girls get pregnant in Malaysia yearly Sex education has always been somewhat of a taboo in Malaysia, with strong feelings on either side. Despite this and the laws that govern it, it is undeniable that pre-martial and underage sex does happen regularly in Malaysia and the lack of sex education means that most of them are practicing sex without the proper knowledge on how to protect themselves from diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
To give you guys an example to illustrate the depths of this misunderstanding, a study has shown that 35% of Malaysians believe that you can’t get pregnant the first time you have sex.
"No no I clean"