2016 Archives

AWARE recommended in list of top four women’s charities for donors

We’re honoured to announce that AWARE has emerged as one of the top four women’s charities to donate to, recommended by Just Cause, a local social enterprise that aims to promote excellence in the non-profit sector through research, consulting and practical support.

In the first of its “Giving Guides” series, Just Cause has recognised AWARE, Daughters of Tomorrow, PPIS (Singapore Muslim Women’s Association) and Society for Wings after an assessment that was based on surveys of staff, volunteers, beneficiaries and partners, together with a review of finances and other key documents for each organisation.

We’re grateful that the significant contributions of organisations in the non-profit sector have been and will continue to be recognised – an essential step in creating a more robust civil society. Thank you, Just Cause!

For more information on Just Cause, visit their website here. You can read the Straits Times’ report on Just Cause here.

Brand New Catalyse Consulting Website

AWARE’s new corporate training division, Catalyse Consulting, aims to inspire diverse and inclusive workplaces in Singapore through workshops and private consultation. By enabling people to leverage on their differences and to bond through their similarities, we help our clients build cohesive, dynamic and effective organisations. We offer workshops on workplace harassment, unconscious bias, and diversity and inclusion.

We have a brand new website with information about what we do, our services, team biographies and research insights. On the website, we also have an Enquiry page for those who wish to book a workshop.

If you are interested in reaching out, we are contactable at info@catalyse.sg or at 6779 7137.

See below to get a feel of our website, or check out www.catalyse.sg to see it for yourself.

Singapore’s latest Universal Periodic Review

A guest blog post by Alison Kuah.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Every four years, a UN Member State has its human rights record ‘peer reviewed’ by other states.

On 27 January 2016, the Singapore government sent an inter-agency delegation for its second UPR in Geneva, Switzerland.

Different countries made recommendations to Singapore on a range of human rights issues. Notably, many recommended an immediate moratorium on the death penalty with a view to abolition, an end to judicial caning, the reform of laws permitting detention without trial (such as the ISA) and the repeal of section 377A of the Penal Code.

Hearteningly, many of these recommendations reflected the work which the Alliance of Like-Minded CSOs in Singapore (ALMOS) had done to put the issues that we face on the ground onto the global map. The day after the UPR session, ALMOS organised a press conference with representatives from AWARE, Sayoni, HOME, We Believe in Second Chances and Function 8. Some of the key issues discussed are set out below.

Women’s rights

A number of countries called for an end to marital immunity for rape, recognising that marriage is no excuse for domestic violence. Singapore’s ambassador Chan Heng Chee said that Singapore is reviewing the law in this area. AWARE intends to continue to engage Singapore government on this subject to get rid of this archaic aspect of the law.

Furthermore, AWARE and fellow organisations have called for a comprehensive anti-discrimination law to eliminate all forms of discrimination in employment.

Some countries (Haiti and Jamaica) recommended that Singapore take steps to end discrimination against single mothers, while others called for Muslim women be given a choice whether they want to be governed by civil or Sharia law.

LGBT rights

15 nations including the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Sweden and United-States recommended that Singapore cease discrimination against LGBT community, and also to repeal section 377A. While Ambassador Chan reiterated the claim that Singapore does not discriminate against LGBT people, this was opposed by Jean Chong of Sayoni at the ALMOS press conference. In addition to s377A, she brought up the censorship of LGBT content in the media, and the rights of LGBT persons to register societies, enjoy family lives and be protected from workplace discrimination. More about Sayoni’s statement is here.

Migrant workers

33 countries gave recommendations relating to the rights of migrant workers. Most were quite general. A number recommended Singapore ratify the International Convention of Migrants and Their Families.

At the ALMOS press conference, Jolovan Wham of HOME said that HOME has been campaigning to include domestic workers in the Employment Act, and highlighted abusive practices in the construction and shipping industries. Other recommendations were to allow migrant workers to switch employers easily, to standardise housing for migrant workers, and protect the rights of domestic workers who are deported because of HIV or pregnancy. Read more about HOME’s statement here.

Death penalty and corporal punishment

At least 28 states recommended a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to abolishment. These states were diverse, e.g. UK, Namibia, South Africa and Chile. South Africa and Spain specifically recommended a prohibition of execution of mentally or intellectually disabled people. Some states, such as Germany and Switzerland, also recommended an end to judicial caning.

The Ministry of Law defended Singapore’s use of the death penalty and corporal punishment on the grounds that it promotes safety. From ALMOS, Damien Chng of We Believe in Second Chances spoke about the need more for statistics on the use of these punishments, broken down by specifics like age, nationality, offence, ethnicity and socio-economic background and more stats on drug traffickers arrested and charged. He emphasised that the government has not dealt with the weakness of the deterrence argument for the death penalty, nor with the inevitability of mistakes resulting in execution of the innocent.

Detention without trial

A number of countries raised concerns about laws enabling detention without trial, such as ISA and CLTPA. At the ALMOS press conference, Chng Suan Tze of Function 8 highlighted how detention without trial can be abused, has been abused in the 1960s and 1980s, against dissenters and people critical of government policies.

While detainees have access to lawyers, she argued, many lawyers are afraid to take on such cases for fear of being arrested. Furthermore, the advisory board is not independent because it is conducted behind closed doors. In the past during Operation Coldstore and Spectrum, those detained have never been put on trial ;requests for a Commission of Inquiry have never been accepted; and the names of those who have been detained has not been released.

Joint recommendations

ALMOS also raised a number of points as a collective.

First, one consistent recommendation from numerous countries was that Singapore establish a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles that will oversee the human rights standards that Singapore has acceded to.

Second, ALMOS argued that since Singapore claims to already be in compliance with core human rights conventions of which is it not currently a party, it should proceed with ratification. For instance the ICCPR: http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx

Thirdly, ALMOS echoes the call for greater freedom of information and sharing of data. We need to have systematic, reliable and disaggregated data.

Finally, they stressed that the UPR process is not over, and ALMOS will continue to engage the government, including during the June session of the UPR where there will be a final adoption of recommendations accepted.

About the author: Alison Kuah is an intern at AWARE.

‘Head of household’ concept has no place in policy

This letter was originally published in The Straits Times on 4 February 2016.

The Ministry of Finance recently stated its intention to enhance “care support” so that Singaporeans can better “balance aspirations in work and family life”.

This goal cannot be achieved without more equal sharing of domestic responsibilities between women and men.

Indeed, the importance of shifting gender roles became clear when paternity leave took pride of place in last year’s National Day Rally speech.

Yet, troublingly, the sexist idea of a “head of the household”, often presumed to be male, still features in policy decisions.

Recently, a Singaporean woman and her non-citizen husband had their request to buy an HDB flat denied because of the husband’s racial classification.

On calling the HDB, the woman was told that to determine the ethnicity of the household, HDB would look at the “head of the household”, who was male.

Fortunately, she persuaded HDB to reclassify the household based on her ethnicity instead.

But it is clear that in the absence of special appeals, the HDB proceeds on the default basis of a man as the “head of the household”.

The persistence of the concept is also illustrated by statistics on the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) website.

In 2010, MSF classified 78.4 per cent of households as headed by a man.

The idea that households inevitably have a “head” reflects a hierarchical view of relationships between family members, where a male economic breadwinner has higher status and greater authority than the female unpaid carer.

This ideological view is out of step with reality. Nearly half of married couples draw a dual income.

Moreover, in associating authority and status with employment, the “head of household” concept devalues caregiving – a retrograde step in the effort to promote shared parenting and work-life balance.

Families are varied, and healthy family relationships are characterised by mutuality. The experiences and opinions of every family member matter equally.

Decisions should be made collaboratively, not imposed by one authority figure. Authority should certainly not be based on gender.

In 2011, when reviewing Singapore’s progress in fulfilling its legal obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw), the United Nations Cedaw Committee highlighted “the head of the household” as a “discriminatory cultural concept” that should be abolished.

We, too, urge the Government to eliminate the concept from policy.

Fair for All Families

This March, AWARE is proud to host Fair for All Families, a FREE carnival in support of single parents and their children! Open to all, but with something special for single-parent families.

Jump into our bouncy castle, get your hands messy with parent-child painting, stretch your muscles with a yoga class, hear single mothers talk about their lives, and hang out with your friends and family at Hong Lim Park on 12 March.

Let’s celebrate International Women’s Day by giving something special to the single parents in our communities for their unique efforts and love. We’re giving out goodie bags for single parents chock full of vouchers and freebies, setting up stalls with discounted offers, games, bubbles, circus art, balloons – and so much more!

So bring your families and kakis of all shapes and sizes, and join this extra fun, extra loud fair – where ALL kinds of families are embraced!

We’re looking for commercial partners! If your business would like to set up a booth, contribute to our goodie bags for single parents, or offer free services, email projects@aware.org.sg.

Programme highlights:

Family art (4pm – 5pm)
Parents, get your little ones to express themselves, and join this collaborative family painting class, guided by an experienced facilitator. We’re sure it’ll be a great bonding session for you and your kids!

Community yoga class (4.30pm – 5.30pm)
Explore your mind, body and spirit in this community yoga class, led by professional yoga teacher, Kathy Cheng.

The real lives of single parents (5.45pm – 6.30am)
Listen to true stories by single parents and learn about their experiences in raising a family, their unique struggles and remarkable resilience.

Group photo taking (6.30pm)
A group photo opp for single parents, to capture the picture-perfect families that we live alongside and love equally.

Capoeira party (6.40pm)
End it off with a BANG at our capoeira martial arts party brought to you by Chapter Zero – kids are more than welcome to join in the fun!

Books, clothes and toys swap (throughout)
Got unwanted toys, books and clothes sitting in your closet at home? Bring them down to the fair, and get your hands on new and old treasures!

And much, much more. Gather your loved ones and your picnic mats, and let’s make it fair for all families!

Fair for All Families runs in support of #asinglelove, a new collaboration project to stand with single parent families, run by AWARE, Daughters of Tomorrow and Kinetic.

Legal, societal discrimination leaves LGBT people vulnerable to abuse

By Jolene Tan, Programmes and Communications Senior Manager

I read with dismay that a man extorted large sums from a male teacher by threatening to reveal their sexual relationship to the Ministry of Education and the teacher’s school (“Man pleads guilty to extorting S$197k, gifts from male teacher he had tryst with”, TODAYonline, Jan 12).

These criminal acts were carried out by an unscrupulous individual. But he was enabled by the atmosphere of secrecy that our society has collectively imposed on LGBT people.

While any married person might fear exposure of adultery, the teacher in this case faced further vulnerability because of the legal, societal and institutional discrimination that treats same-sex relationships as invalid and shameful.

Section 377A of the Penal Code stigmatises sexual activity between men, LGBT people are not protected against employment discrimination, and same-sex relationships are routinely censored from media representation.

As long as we demand that these relationships stay furtive, the people in them will remain vulnerable to abuse.

Indeed, the prevalence of sexual blackmail was cited by British parliamentarians in the 1960s as one reason for decriminalising homosexuality.

The experience of the Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) at the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) reveals a similar disturbing issue: Section 377A can discourage some men from reporting sexual violence against them to the police.

They fear that in describing the sexual assault or their interactions with their attackers, they will reveal that they have, themselves, violated Section 377A, and thus be, themselves, subject to police investigation.

Most people face great social and emotional barriers to reporting sexual assault.

For some, Section 377A adds the fear that the authorities will treat them not as the victim of a crime, but as a perpetrator.

The Government’s position that the law will not be proactively enforced does not adequately allay this concern.

Individuals are understandably nervous about whether such a stand will truly override the weight of the written law, which plainly says they have committed a crime.

Moreover, for someone who has faced a potentially traumatic sexual assault, even if he is not subsequently prosecuted, the prospect of police investigations for an alleged crime can be enough to deter reporting.

His attacker is, therefore, never held to account.

The extortion case and SACC’s experiences show some of the great human costs of a supposed moral stance against homosexuality.

As long as our society continues to discriminate against LGBT people, we will aid and abet their abuse.

This letter first appeared in TODAY Voices on 19 January.

Join our Body/Language: Creative Writing workshop for Youth

Body/Language is a creative writing workshop that gives participants the skills and the space to uncover and express their identities. Through personal reflection and sharing sessions, participants come to vocalise their joys, frustrations and hopes of change, through poetry and creative writing, and come to a better understanding of themselves and their relationships with those around them.

27 February and 28 February (Saturday and Sunday)
Time: 1pm – 4pm
Location: AWARE Centre, Blk 5 Dover Crescent #01-22, Singapore 130005
Cost: FREE!
Age: 14-19
Click here to sign up!

Participants will have the chance to showcase their work at a public reading if they wish, but this is not required.

The Body/Language approach:

Every one of us is a complicated bundle of our own histories, emotions and experiences. But societal expectations and prejudices mean that we don’t always get to hear our stories told. Our bodies are used by the media to sell products; people judge our identities harshly and place limits on how much we are worth. Body/Language starts from the simple belief that all our stories, in all of their colours, shapes and sizes, should be respected and heard when we choose to tell them.

Body/Language is developed by EtiquetteSG and We Can! Singapore. This workshop is open to people of all genders.

Reviews

“I found the whole process cathartic as I was given a safe space to reflect on gender-based issues and on my personal life story. As someone new to spoken-word, the workshop gave me a good insight into the workings of this contemporary form of poetry. I like how there is no one-rule to writing spoken-word poems – that freedom gave me more room to imagine and explore different ways to approaching the subject matter. Thank you so much for this workshop!”– Aswani, Body/Language participant

“I had a very positive experience with the Body/Language workshop. The atmosphere felt very safe and accommodating thanks to the fellow attendees and the facilitators Raksha and Anne. I learnt a lot and I was so encouraged to write more. Thanks once again for organising this, and I would love to sign up again if there were similar opportunities in the future.” – Sharada, Body/Language participant

Session 1
Introduction of concepts and issues surrounding identity, including gender, sharing of personal experiences and discussion of social concerns. Introduction of creative writing techniques and forms

Session 2
Working in small groups of 2-3 people to produce short performances on any relevant theme that resonates with the group. Sharing and performing of creative pieces with the class.

Participants are strongly encouraged to attend ALL sessions of the workshop. Please only sign up if you can make it for both sessions as there are limited slots!

Contact Person

For further information, please feel free to contact:

Nabilah
nabilah@aware.org.sg

AWARE statement on the rights of minors in criminal investigations

We are deeply saddened by the death of Benjamin Lim. We offer our best wishes and condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.

While we cannot ultimately know why this young boy ended his life, the case raises troubling questions about the treatment of minors who come into contact with the criminal justice system. As a group that works with people who have experienced sexual assault, AWARE is concerned about the rights and welfare of any children who may be involved in sexual assault investigations, whether as complainants, suspects or witnesses.

As a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Singapore has an obligation in international law to make the best interests of the child a primary consideration in all state dealings with any child. This includes cases where a child is alleged or accused to have committed a criminal offence – a stressful and difficult experience even for the most confident adult.

AWARE welcomes the announcement by SPF that it will review the procedure for police interviews of young people, and urges SPF to draw from international best practice in this area. The Victoria Police in Australia, for instance, can only interview under-18s if a parent, guardian or other support person is present. Moreover, the SPF should be responsible for ensuring that emotional and psychological support is available to all minors (and their carers) who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Only recently, the Law Society called for accused persons in general to have early access to counsel. This need applies with even more urgency to vulnerable individuals such as minors.

Finally, we believe it is extremely important that the police take complaints of sexual assault seriously. But any investigation must take place with due regard for the rights of suspects. Victims of sexual assault want to see fairness and accountability in the criminal process. In many cases, the perpetrators is someone previously known to them. If there is a general perception that criminal investigations may be unduly harsh or traumatic, especially for minors, this may deter victims from reporting. It is in everyone’s interest that criminal investigations respect the rights of suspects.

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6779 0282

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Year: 2016