Women
Rape and Domestic Violence: The law stipulates imprisonment of up to 30 years and caning with no fewer than 12 strokes for rape. The law does not criminalize spousal rape and explicitly states that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife is not rape, as long as she is not under age 14 or, if ethnic Chinese, 15, (see section 6, Children). Islamic family law provides protections against spousal abuse and for the granting of protection orders, and it has been interpreted to cover sexual assault. The penalty for breaching a protection order is a fine not exceeding BND 2,000 ($1,460), imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both. The government reported rape cases, but the crime did not appear prevalent. There were no reports of rape or sexual abuse during an arrest or detention.
There is no specific domestic violence law, but authorities arrested individuals in domestic violence cases under the Women and Girls Protection Act. The police investigated domestic violence only in response to a report by a victim, but were otherwise responsive in such cases. The government reported domestic abuse cases, but the crime did not appear prevalent. The criminal penalty for a minor domestic assault is one to two weeks in jail and a fine. An assault resulting in serious injury is punishable by caning and a longer prison sentence.
A special police unit staffed by female officers investigated domestic abuse and child abuse complaints. A hotline was available for persons to report domestic violence. The Department of Community Development in the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports provided counseling for women and their spouses. Based on individual circumstances, some female and minor victims were placed in protective custody at a government-sponsored shelter while waiting for their cases to be brought to court. No such facility was available for men, but there were no reported victims in need of such a facility.
Islamic courts staffed by male and female officials offered counseling to married couples in domestic violence cases. Officials did not encourage wives to reconcile with flagrantly abusive spouses, and Islamic courts recognized assault as grounds for divorce.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): No law criminalizes or mandates FGM/C, although severe cases could be charged under laws against endangering the life or safety of others. There were no reports of FGM/C on women over age 18.
There were no statistics on the prevalence of FGM/C, but the government reported that in general it is done within 40 days of birth on the basis of religious belief, health, and custom. The Ministry of Religious Affairs declared circumcision for Muslim women (sunat) a religious rite obligatory under Islam and described it as the removal of the hood of the clitoris (Type I per World Health Organization (WHO) classification). The government does not consider this practice to be FGM/C and expressed support for WHO’s call for the elimination of FGM and the call for member countries to enact and enforce legislation to protect girls and women from all forms of violence, including FGM. The government claimed that the practice rarely resembles the type I description and had not caused medical complications or complaints.
Sexual Harassment: The law prohibits sexual harassment and stipulates that whoever assaults or uses criminal force, intending thereby to outrage or knowing the act is likely to outrage the modesty of a person, shall be punished by caning and imprisonment for up to five years. Sexual harassment cases were reported, but the crime did not appear prevalent. A survey on sexual harassment in the workplace conducted by a local professional association found more than half of respondents had experienced harassment in the workplace; nearly 60 percent believed “the higher authorities are unfair” in handling complaints of harassment; and less than 10 percent made reports to the police.
Reproductive Rights: Couples have the legal right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children; manage their reproductive health; and have the information and means to do so, free from discrimination, coercion, or violence. Social, cultural, and religious pressures may have affected some women’s access to contraception or health care for sexually transmitted infections. Unmarried Muslim women had difficulty obtaining contraception from government clinics and instead turned to private clinics or sought reproductive services abroad. Women seeking medical assistance for complications arising from illegal abortions were reported to police after being given care.
Discrimination: In accordance with the government’s interpretation of the Quran’s precepts, Muslim women and men are accorded different rights. For example, Islamic family law considers women the “most entitled person” to custody of children in the case of divorce as long as she is Muslim, and it requires that men receive twice the inheritance of women.
Secular civil law permits female citizens to own property and other assets, including business properties. Noncitizen husbands of citizens may not apply for permanent resident status until they reside in the country for at least seven years, while noncitizen wives may do so after two years of marriage. While citizenship is automatically inherited from citizen fathers, citizen mothers may pass their nationality to their children only through an application process in which children are first issued a COI (and considered stateless).
Children
Birth Registration: Citizenship is derived from one’s father, or, following an application process, mother. Birth registration is universal and equal for girls and boys, except among indigenous Dusun and Iban people in rural areas (see section 6, Indigenous People). Stateless parents must apply for a special pass for a child born in the country. Failure to register a birth is against the law, and also makes it difficult to enroll the child in school.
Child Abuse: Child abuse occurred and was prosecuted, but the crime did not appear prevalent. The Royal Brunei Police Force hosts a specialized Woman and Child Abuse Crime Investigation Unit, and the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports provided shelter and care to victims.
Early and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age of marriage for both boys and girls is 14 with parental and participant consent, unless otherwise stipulated by religion or custom under the law, which generally set a higher minimum age. The Islamic Family Act sets the minimum marriageable age at 16 for Muslim girls and 18 for Muslim men and makes it an offense to use force, threat, or deception to compel a person to marry against his or her will. Ethnic Chinese must be age 15 or older to marry, according to the Chinese Marriage Act, which also stipulates sexual intercourse with an ethnic Chinese girl under age 15 is considered rape even if it is with her spouse.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): See information in “Women” above.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: By law sexual intercourse with a girl under age 14 constitutes rape and is punishable by imprisonment for at least eight and not more than 30 years and not fewer than 12 strokes of the cane. The law provides for protection of women, girls, and boys from exploitation through prostitution and “other immoral purposes,” including pornography. The government applied the law against “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” to prosecute rape of male children. Child prostitution was not common, and the country was not a destination for sex tourism.
International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at travel.state.gov/content/childabduction/en/legal/compliance.html.
Anti-Semitism
There was no known Jewish community in the country. Comments disparaging Jewish persons collectively were posted online and on social media.
Trafficking in Persons
See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/.
Persons with Disabilities
The law does not prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities or mandate accessibility or other assistance for them. The government provided “inclusive” educational services for children with disabilities in both government and religious schools. All persons regardless of disability received the same rights and access to health care. There was no information available on abuse in educational and mental health facilities. The Department for Community Development conducted several programs targeted at promoting awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities.
Nine registered NGOs represented persons with disabilities in the country. They worked to supplement services provided by the three government agencies that support persons with disabilities. The NGOs received some funding from the government through the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports; the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation; and through charitable events by local businesses. Public officials, including the sultan, called for persons with disabilities to be included in everyday activities. Access to buildings, information, and communications for persons with disabilities was inconsistent.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The government favors ethnic Malays in society through the national Malay Islamic Monarchy philosophy, which is enshrined in the constitution. Under the constitution, ministers and most top officials must be Malay Muslims, although the sultan has the discretion to make exceptions. Members of the military must be indigenous Malay, a member of a specified indigenous group, or non-indigenous Malay Muslim. The government pressured both public and private sector employers to increase hiring of Malay citizens. Land Code amendments published in June would ban noncitizens from holding land via the power of attorney, trust deeds, or long-term leases and retroactively declare all such contracts null and void with no specified recourse or restitution. The amendments, which primarily affect ethnic Chinese and some indigenous minorities, had not been implemented as of year’s end.
Indigenous People
Some indigenous persons were stateless. In rural areas some indigenous persons did not register births, creating difficulties in school enrollment, access to health care, and employment. Indigenous lands were not specifically demarcated, and there were no specially designated representatives for indigenous groups in the LegCo or other government entities. Indigenous persons generally had minimal participation in decisions affecting their lands, cultures, and traditions and in the exploitation of energy, minerals, timber, or other natural resources on and under indigenous lands.
Acts of Violence, Discrimination, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Secular law, based on British common law, criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and, upon conviction, imposes punishments of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or commensurate fines. The law was primarily applied in cases of rape or child abuse when both attacker and victim are male, as existing law covers only assault of a woman by a man. The SPC bans “liwat” (anal intercourse) between men or between a man and a woman not his wife and, if this phase is implemented, would impose death by stoning. The SPC also prohibits men from dressing as women or women dressing as men “without reasonable excuse” or “for immoral purposes.” During the year there were no convictions for cross-dressing.
Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community reported unofficial and societal discrimination in public and private employment, housing, recreation, and in obtaining services including education from state entities. Some LGBTI job applicants were asked directly about their sexual identity and reported their answers affected hiring decisions. LGBTI individuals reported intimidation by the police, including threats to make public their sexuality; to hamper their ability to obtain a government job; or to bar graduation from government academic institutions. In some cases LGBTI individuals were threatened by police with religious penalties such as stoning to death, although the officers were not from religious enforcement and the phase of the SPC that includes the death penalty had not been implemented. Members of the LGBTI community reported that the government monitored their activities and communications. There were no NGOs working explicitly on LGBTI rights. Events on LGBTI topics were subject to restrictions on assembly and expression, and were held in private with the understanding that no permits would have been issued by the government for such events.
HIV and AIDS Social Stigma
HIV and HIV-related stigma and discrimination occurred, as the disease continued to be associated with LGBTI behavior and drug use. By law foreigners infected with HIV are not permitted to enter or stay in the country, although no medical testing is required for short-term tourists. One NGO operated in the country specifically on AIDS issues and was generally supported by the government.