Malaysia’s DVA: the clash of gender, cultural and religious rights

Malaysia’s DVA is a success story in so far as it reflects the interests of a variety of stakeholders involved in the statute’s passage. However, the law is not wholly satisfactory as a tool for protecting vulnerable women or punishing offenders. It is shown that law-making is a highly involved movement, although what is being negotiated and contested ultimately only reflects a compromise, rather than the completion of an agenda.