Singapore’s Parliament unanimously voted to repeal Section 377A of its Penal Code on Tuesday, removing the colonial-era ban on sex between men. The abolition of this law came amidst slowly changing attitudes towards homosexuality in the South East Asian country.
Last August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in Malay, Mandarin, and English that the government would vote to revoke the law but maintained that the country would continue to protect the definition of marriage between a man and a woman.
Singapore’s prime minister says the country will decriminalize sex between men by repealing a colonial-era law. But he also said the government will make sure that the change doesn't open the door to allowing same-sex marriage. https://t.co/XFvVy6EEIf
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 21, 2022
“Sex between consenting men should not be criminalized. There is no justification to prosecute people for it, nor to make it a crime,” he said in a televised address during the last National Day rally.
“I believe (repeal) is the right thing to do and something that most Singaporeans will now accept. This will bring the law into line with current social mores and, I hope, provide some relief to gay Singaporeans,” he added.
While the Singaporean legislature voted to remove the ban on gay sex, many LGBT individuals and groups were still disappointed when the Parliament also passed a constitutional amendment preventing challenges in court that led other countries, such as Taiwan and the United States, to legalize same-sex marriage.
PM Lee: We will protect the definition of marriage, as contained in the Interpretation Act and the Women’s Charter, from being challenged constitutionally in the courts. We have to amend the Constitution to protect it, & we will do so.#NDR2022 #NDRsg
— leehsienloong (@leehsienloong) August 21, 2022
The government defended the decision, saying that courts shouldn’t have to decide on such issues. The amendment also came as Prime Minister Loong promised to protect the definition of marriage between a man and a woman from being challenged constitutionally in courts after revealing the plan to repeal Section 377A.
“We will try and maintain a balance…to uphold a stable society with traditional, heterosexual family values, but with space for homosexuals to live their lives and contribute to society,” Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said this week.
The repeal and the constitutional amendment were passed unanimously, thanks to the overwhelming majority vote of the People’s Action Party, which ruled Singapore since its independence from Malaysia in 1965. Even though the amendment prevented the definition of marriage from future constitutional challenges in court, the changes would allow the future Parliament to decide on the definition of marriage.
Although LGBT activists and organizations cautiously celebrated the revocation of Section 377A, many of them said that the move was long overdue. A holdover of the British Empire, Section 377A was promulgated in 1938 when Singapore was under British rule.
The government enforced the law until the 1990s, where Singaporean gay men were often subject to raids and arrests by authorities. They were usually charged with committing indecent acts or outrage of modesty. Although the country’s conservative attitudes towards homosexuality remained throughout the 2000s, raids against LGBT individuals decreased significantly. The Singaporean government voted to keep Section 377A in 2007 but promised not to enforce it.
Since then, the perception of the LGBT community in Singapore has been changing. According to the Institute of Policy Studies, 42% of Singaporeans aged 18 to 25 accepted same-sex marriage in 2018, compared to just 17% in 2013.
