Women waiting in fear after refugee sex attacks in Malaysia

REFUGEE women living in Malaysia are too afraid to leave their shanty homes for fear they will be sexually harassed and assaulted by police, with officials reporting such incidents are reaching "extraordinary levels".
Some migrant women are forced to stay inside or travel in groups to avoid being singled out by police and RELA, the paramilitary corps.
While men are asked for a cash bribe when stopped, some police allegedly sexually harass and abuse women.
This is the frightening scenario awaiting refugees who will soon be sent from Australia to Kuala Lumpur under the federal government's controversial refugee swap.
Malaysian opposition MP and foreign affairs spokesman Liew Chin Tong - who has called for a ban on the use of the rattan cane - said sexual harassment and abuse of female refugees was rampant.
"One member of parliament told the story of Chinese women caught and molested in police custody. This exists; it's a real threat and it's part of the systematic culture of abuse that exists behind closed doors," Mr Tong said.

"Some other refugee women have also been sold as sex workers."
Amnesty International National Refugee co-ordinator Graham Thom said Prime Minister Julia Gillard should educate herself on the type of harassment faced by refugee women in Malaysia.
"With no legal rights, women and girls are subject to sexual violence and harassment not only in public, but by gangs who also target them in their homes, knowing they have nowhere to turn," Mr Thom said.
"Mothers are left with little choice but to marry off their young daughters at a very early age, as one of the only ways to hopefully ensure some form of male protection."
Mr Thom, who recently exposed the squalid conditions at Malaysia's immigration depots, said he had spoken to refugee women who broke down describing their daily fear that their children could be kidnapped or detained.
"There is little doubt that refugee women and girls in Malaysia are particularly vulnerable," Mr Thom said.
The Daily Telegraph spoke to women who had been abused and did not want to pose for photographs for fear of retribution.
"They always harass me. I am 15. It doesn't matter how old you are," Nei said. "My friends have been assaulted. They are too scared to say anything to the police as they will get arrested as being an illegal and sent to a camp."