Section 377A of the Penal Code currently provides for a 2-year jail term for “any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person.”
Why Does It Affect Us?
- it makes it illegal to be gay and any acts of gross indecency between 2 men is punishable with a jail term
- doesn’t this make it easy for your enemy or a malicious colleague, employer or employee to make a complaint against anyone who is gay thus encouraging persecution (reference witch-hunts in Europe and the Cultural Revolution in China)
- if a student were to bring up the topic of whether homosexuality is acceptable, teachers must answer that it is “illegal” which permanently ends any further discussion on the subject. future generations are being taught that being homosexual is a crime and punishable in a court of law
- the word “abets” = to approve, encourage, and support; urge and help on. doesn’t this mean condoning gay activities like a parent who knows about their gay son, allows him and his boyfriend to make love in their home, can be convicted in a court of law
The phrase “abets the commission of” really worries me because wouldn’t this mean any Singapore citizen should report any homosexual act to the police? Wouldn’t not doing so be tantamount to aiding and abetting.
Are we being told to send our friends, fathers, mothers, uncles, aunties, daughters and sons to jail?
What Can Anyone Do?
- help change mindsets
- spread the awareness about 377A and what it means (i can’t believe that more than half of the people i spoke with had no idea what 377A was about)
- believe and share with people you care about that Gay identity is very fundamental, it is as fundamental as ethnic identity, as linguistic identity, as religious identity.*
One thing I took away from the forum was a comment passed by a foreigner who has lived many years in Singapore. His observation is that those who believe that 377A should be repealed (both gay and straight) are fragmented and disorganised in their efforts and voice. Not only that, it seems the majority of gay people, whom 377A affects, remain silent about it.
Change of this nature, from historical examples like slavery, inter-ractial marriages and the women’s vote, is never effected through silence and a hope that “things will get better”.
If anything is to change, it needs to start from individuals (gay and straight) believing that 377A affects them personally and that they can do something, whether small or large, to effect change.
This is one of my efforts to help make a change.
I hope this will make you ponder over the issue of 377A.
I hope pondering over this issue makes you feel you want to do something.
I hope any small effort that you make towards the awareness of “377A and why it should be repealed” contributes to all the efforts out there.
And I hope our efforts will make a difference.
I asked at the forum “What measure do we use to know when our voice is loud enough?” and the answer I got wasn’t what I was looking for.
The answer offered was that maybe a survey could be conducted which correctly sampled the right cross-section of the population, just like how the ministry conducts a survey every 5 years to decide censorship guidelines but says Baey Yam Keng, Member of Parliament, Tanjong Pagar GRC, “I don’t think the government will be making a decision based on a survey. The government will want to make its own stand and position on issues like this, and for this it requires a mindset shift.”*
So if a survey or poll won’t be used in the consideration of this issue, and its not likely to go to a vote, how will our voices be heard? What avenues and channels are there to hear our voices and how loud does it need to be before parliment hears and/or mindsets are changed?
Given that we cannot organise ourselves in a registered society and there cannot be sanctioned lobbying as it furthers the cause of homosexuality which is illegal, what can we do?
Just like those who applaud 377A and who are lobbying for specific amendments to be made to 377A to include lesbians will be campaigning loudly for their believes and their cause, we who believe that 377A should be repealed should not remain silent.
I hope each individual who believes that 377A should be repealed will make any effort to show their support.
Wear a button that says No To 377A, blog about it, tell a friend about it, put it on your friendster profile, put it on your facebook profile, put it on your fridae profile.
Small things add up and the sum of our small actions and voices will reach a point where it will be heard and hopefully that effects change.
If we don’t make any effort, won’t we be saying:
- we don’t care
- its OK for 377A to be there
- we don’t mind gay people being criminalised
- we don’t mind that there is a law out there that can be used to persecute people
Since we are citizens of an ultra-modern city and we have pledged to build a society based on justice and equality, should we not follow our founding father’s example and not remain silent?
* extracts / quotes taken from Channel News Asia’s article entitled “Hundreds attend forum on decriminalisation of homosexual acts”
that was my 2nd nite watching it. cried buckets as usual
wish u had come over to say hi … its been a while
hope u’re well
Points noted!! What you say is true. A litle small effort will make a long way (better than no effort at all). Thanks for sharing this with us.
I saw you at the play (Asian Boys) on last Sat night. It was too crowded, so didn’t get a chance to say hi to you. Bumped into Tony too.