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Position Filled: Case Manager, Sexual Assault Care Centre

We are no longer accepting applicants for this role.

AWARE’s Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) is looking for a Case Manager to support survivors of sexual assault along their journeys of recovery and help SACC in its day-to-day operations as well as programme development. The role also requires supporting the SACC team in advocacy and project-based work.

If you are passionate about helping survivors reclaim control of their lives after experiencing trauma, join AWARE in its fight against sexual violence. You’ll play an essential, hands-on role at SACC—the only centre of its kind in Singapore. Read more about it here.

Position: Case Manager
Department: CARE – SACC
Commitment: Full-time, Monday-Friday, 40 hours a week (Permanent position)
Salary range: $3,500 – $3,800
Starting date: Immediate

Job Description:

  • Provide high-quality and timely case management services to survivors of sexual violence who approach AWARE through various modes (calls, messages, walk-ins, referrals and other platforms)

  • Conduct intake interviews and case sessions to assess client needs, risk and protective factors

  • Explore the clients’ options and plan interventions to ensure their best interest. This includes but is not limited to: gathering and sharing relevant information, exploring options and accompanying them through the justice system, advocating for their rights, advocating for survivor-centric policies and procedures around sexual violence, etc.

  • Collaborate with the client to develop a safety and/or care plan that addresses the identified needs and concerns

  • Coordinate internal and/or external services and support aligned with the care plan created with the client. Internal services include counselling, legal clinic, accompaniment through the civil or criminal justice system, etc. External coordination may include liaising with other agencies and institutions (e.g. criminal and civil justice system, medical system, social service system)

  • Maintain casework documentation in a timely manner for reporting and analysis, such as but not limited to case assessment and case plan, work done, client feedback and correspondence with relevant parties

  • Provide support to other SACC services and programme development work, including but not limited to: covering for other case managers during assigned legal clinic hours; project management of SACC initiatives and programmes; creating and improving standard operating procedures for SACC

  • Committing to continual learning and service improvement through supervision, knowledge and case-sharing, and discussions on service and process standards

Preferred Candidate Profile:

  • Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident with minimum two (2) years of related experience working in support of individuals needing help (e.g. community work, social work, helpline staffing, counselling, befriending), preferably in the Singapore context. Experience with conducting group work is a plus

  • Educational qualifications in social work, counselling, psychology or related fields preferred, with trauma management credentials a bonus (training will be provided as needed)

  • Strong belief in gender equality and the values of AWARE. Experience or interest in empowering individuals through case advocacy is a plus

  • Fidelity to clients’ best interests through a strong commitment to confidentiality on client information, and a strong commitment to empowering clients with knowledge on their rights, options and potential challenges

  • Excellent interpersonal, empathy and communication skills in English (verbal and written) to connect with clients, consult with colleagues, and correspond with relevant parties

  • Good analytical skills and ability to work independently

  • Superb time-management skills and ability to meet deadlines

  • Strong project-planning skills: highly creative, adaptable and a self-starter

  • Proficiency with computers, Google Drive apps and MS Office, especially Excel and Word

You must read and acknowledge our Privacy Statement here.

Please note that due to the large number of applications, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview. If you have any questions about this position, please email careers@aware.org.sg.

 

3 ways to measure Singapore’s progress to a truly gender-equal society

This letter was originally published in TODAY on 26 April 2022. 

The vision outlined in the Government’s White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development last month is commendable.

Measures such as the upcoming anti-discrimination legislation and increased financial support for caregivers have been pushed for by various advocates, including Aware.

However, a question that has been relatively under-discussed is how we will track this progress towards gender equality. It’s one thing to talk about end goals for Singapore, but what targets are we setting to ensure that we’re on the right path?

Here are a few concrete suggestions.

One: We need to pay attention to our labour force participation rates (LFPRs)

As the White Paper points out, the onus of caregiving continues to fall on women. This contributes to the gap in LFPRs between the genders.

In 2021, data from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed that the LFPR for males aged 15 and above stood at 77.2 per cent ー13 percentage points above the female LFPR of 64.2 per cent. If women participated at the same rates as men, we’d add a whopping 225,000 people to our workforce.

A reduction in LFPR disparity should follow the implementation of measures set forth in the White Paper to better protect women in the workplace, improve caregiver support and shift mindsets. Ideally, we should aim to reduce this gap to less than five percentage points in 10 years’ time.

Two: The gender wage gapーparticularly, the unadjusted figureーshould be monitored more closely.

There is some disagreement over whether the unadjusted or adjusted gender pay gap is more useful as an indicator of inequality.

MOM said in 2020 that the adjusted number (4.3 per cent) is a “better measure of whether men and women are paid equally for doing similar work”.

Yet that does not paint the full picture of gender inequality when it comes to work and pay. The unadjusted pay gap (14.4 per cent) reflects the fact that women are doing different (and generally lower-paying) work from men. Most of the time, this is not by choice: Low-wage jobs tend to afford women more flexibility, which they require to juggle care.

We should therefore examine the unadjusted wage gap every year to guide our plans moving forward, rather than focusing on the measure of similar work.

As the action plans are being rolled out, targets need to be established for reducing the unadjusted gender wage gap at regular intervals, with the goal of getting it below 10 per cent at the end of the next decade.

Three: We should consider a means of identification for family caregivers, to which caregiver support and benefits can be tied.

Such a “caregiver passport” would further centralise and streamline Singapore’s efforts to support caregivers by simplifying the process of seeking support (such as the Home Caregiving Grant), thus reducing the stress that they currently face navigating various schemes and resources.

Those with the passport should also be able to enjoy other benefits that grant them added support and financial relief. This will allow us to track the utilisation of the relevant schemes and identify gaps in our system where needs are not met and where we can improve.

In our workplaces, we aim to set Smart goals, that is goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based.

We should do the same for Singapore, and in that way turn our vision of a truly gender-equal society into a reality.

Lee Yoke Mun
Research Executive
AWARE

 

A Recap: Thank You, Next? Town Hall on the White Paper

The landmark White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development, launched on 28 March 2022, has sparked a flurry of responses from the Singapore public, running the gamut from excitement to disappointment.

Accordingly, AWARE held an informal virtual town hall on Thursday, 14 April 2022, to allow AWARE’s partner organisations, members, donors and volunteers, as well as participants in AWARE’s 2021 community discussions, a space to give voice to their various reactions. The Zoom meeting featured speakers from the Disabled People’s Association (DPA), Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME), Sayoni, Project X, Daughters of Tomorrow (DOT) and Talk Your Heart Out (TYHO). In all, around 60 people attended the two-hour session, entitled “Thank You, Next”.

Thanking gender equality advocates

Starting off the town hall, AWARE’s Head of Research and Advocacy, Shailey Hingorani, reflected on the historic nature of the government’s review of women’s issues. She then discussed AWARE’s response: the submission of an Omnibus Report, as well as community discussions that resulted in seven policy wishlists. On behalf of AWARE, Shailey expressed a heartfelt thanks to all AWARE volunteers, discussion participants, partner organisations and everyone else involved in the advocacy efforts leading up to the White Paper. She added that there is still more to do, given that, for instance, the Paper’s framing of gender equality is still situated within heteronormative values: “None of us is free until all of us are free.”

AWARE Executive Director Corinna Lim shared her initial impressions of the Paper—that it represented a huge breakthrough for Singapore. Yet she noted that while the Paper went “broad”, covering a lot of different gendered issues, it did not go very deep. The White Paper is by no means the be-all and end-all of advocating for gender equality, Corinna reminded attendees; as Minister K. Shanmugam himself pointed out, it is just a starting point.

Positives and negatives

During the speaker segments, representatives from civil society organisations were asked which recommendations in the White Paper they felt the most positive about, what they felt was missing, what impact they foresaw the Paper having and what targets they thought the government should set out to achieve in the coming years.

Kaylee Kua, DOT’s Senior Manager of Programs and Operation, said DOT welcomed announcements such as the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs), as well as divorce by mutual agreement (DMA). However, Kaylee added that the Paper’s recommendations on caregivers were insufficient as long-term measures for Singapore’s ageing population, a sentiment that several other speakers echoed.

Jaya Anil Kumar, HOME’s Senior Research and Advocacy Manager, noted that while migrant domestic workers (MDWs) carry out a substantial portion of caregiving duties in Singapore, they were excluded from the White Paper’s recommendations on caregiving. Namely, she highlighted issues such as a lack of compensation for MDWs when they are injured during their work, as well as the lack of legislation for 24-hour rest days. Jaya added that MDWs need the right to switch employers, given that their work permits are tied to their current employer. She also brought up the importance of official personnel being sensitive to MDWs’ needs and circumstances when MDWs report abuse, especially abuse experienced in their employers’ homes.

Vivienne Wee, a former family caregiver and one of AWARE’s founding members, also discussed the caregiving aspects of the White Paper, observing that it did not recommend any new policy on the subject. Vivienne also commented that the increase to the Home Caregiving Grant proposed by the Paper (depending on beneficiaries’ income levels, the Grant will either be raised from $200 to $250 or $400 per month) is too small an amount.

Chirag Agarwal, TYHO’s co-founder and an AWARE volunteer, discussed the Paper’s title and why the term “Women’s Development” was used rather than gender equality. He shared that he was most excited by the “Mindset Shifts” section of the Paper, which he saw as a positive sign, specifically the recommendation to address negative stereotypes such as the expectation for men to be breadwinners. However, he added that the Paper could have gone further by addressing the issue of toxic masculinity. Chirag named several contexts in which this could be done, from National Service (NS) to social norms in boys’ schools.

Max Soh, DPA’s Advocacy Executive, said that the Paper lacked references to disabled people overall. For example, while some groups have cheered the announcement that TAFEP guidelines will be enshrined into an anti-discrimination law, the lack of clarity on what constitutes fair or unfair treatment is a worry for the disabled community. Max added that disabled women and girls experience violence against women (VAW) at a much higher rate than the non-disabled, and that this, along with the various systemic realities disabled women and girls face surrounding such higher rates, was not given enough attention in the White Paper’s section on VAW.

Vanessa Ho, Project X’s Executive Director, expressed that while she was glad to see sections on VAW and mindset shifts, they still left sex workers and nightlife industries unacknowledged. Vanessa added that it remains challenging for sex workers to report threats and harassment to the police.

Tan Joo Hymn, Programme Director for AWARE’s Birds & Bees, focused on the VAW section as well, specifically the action on promoting “values of respect and safety through education”. Overall, she highlighted several areas that were missing from the Paper’s recommendations on sex education: The role of parents and the training of teachers are both not mentioned, nor are there meaningful mentions of consent education. Additionally, Joo Hymn added that the general emphasis on sex education seems to be on protecting one’s self, without discussions of active bystanders or perpetrators.

Jean Chong, Sayoni’s co-founder, also expressed thoughts on where the White Paper could be improved with regards to sex education. She elaborated that the ability for marginalised groups such as LBTQ women to even be a part of the conversation was limited, revealing biases that were inherent to the consultation process overall.

Further discussion

In discussion sections between speaker segments, attendees asked about various topics, ranging from the practical value of women’s representation in the workplace to how civil society organisations collaborate on advocacy.

Regarding representation in the workplace, Wynthia Goh—the Head of NEXT Digital at NCS, as well as an AWARE board member—stated that mere representation alone is insufficient for a mindset shift at the workplace, and that we need to go deeper, towards new policies and norms.

Speakers also reflected on how civil society organisations work together, turning the conversation towards post-White Paper efforts. Jaya explained how HOME and its partners typically identify a topic that resonates for multiple organisations, after which they work on joint statements, research papers and/or events, and take actions on shared values.

Corinna added that as a result of the White Paper, new groups and joint advocacy projects could emerge in the future.

AWARE elects 2022-2024 board at 37th Annual General Meeting, with veteran journalist and comms professional Ong Soh Chin announced as President

This post was originally published as a press release on 26 April 2022.

On Saturday, 23 April 2022, gender-equality group AWARE held its 37th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elected a new board for the 2022-2024 term.

The AGM was held over Zoom, marking the third time that AWARE has held a virtual AGM, after the Covid-19 pandemic necessitated that 2020 and 2021 editions also take place via video-conferencing. The meeting was attended by 87 AWARE members, including both ordinary members (Singaporean women) and associate members (men, non-binary individuals and non-Singaporeans).

During the board election, Ong Soh Chin ran unopposed for her first term as AWARE President, succeeding 2018-2022 President Margaret Thomas. A former AWARE board member herself, Ms Ong is a veteran journalist and editor with over 30 years of experience in the industry, covering arts, entertainment, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, politics and current affairs. After a long career at The Straits Times, Ms Ong headed communications and editorial departments at Netflix, Institute of Policy Studies and Shell. She is now an editorial and PR consultant.

“I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Soh Chin as the next AWARE President,” said Ms Thomas, a founding member of AWARE. “Having known and worked with her for years, I’m well-acquainted with her extraordinary energy, level-headed judgement and abiding passion for gender issues. She has already contributed so much in her time with AWARE and I look forward to the new heights she is set to scale.”

“It is a great honour to take the helm of an organisation that has made such an indelible impact on Singapore society,” said Ms Ong. “The next two years will be a critical period for AWARE. With the White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development, Singapore is entering an exciting new chapter in its journey to gender equality. There is much to be done and I look forward to starting that work with AWARE staff, volunteers, partners and supporters, as well as my inspiring fellow board members.”

Incumbent AWARE Treasurer Aarathi Arumugam retained her position on the board. The other seven positions were contested, and the successful candidates were: Elisa Kang, Fikri Alkhatib, Kathy Park (named Assistant Treasurer), Laavanya Kathiravelu, Penelope Shone, Teo You Yenn and Zheng Huifen. Immediate Past President Margaret Thomas rounds out the board. While most of the 2022-2024 board have served at least one previous term, three members—Fikri Alkhatib, Kathy Park and Laavanya Kathiravelu—are newcomers to the AWARE board. At 29, Fikri Alkhatib is also AWARE’s youngest-ever board member since the organisation instituted a board in 2010.

Further assignment of board positions (1st and 2nd Vice President and Secretary) will take place at the new board’s first meeting in May. The election was preceded by a “Meet the Candidates” session on 18 April, where all 10 candidates introduced themselves to the wider membership and took questions.

“Board diversity has been an increasingly prominent part of the conversation on equality in Singapore,” noted AWARE Executive Director Corinna Lim. “Like any organisation, we need our board to be as forward-thinking, dynamic and inclusive as possible. I’m excited therefore that the new AWARE board features not just ethnic diversity, but age diversity—with members in their 20s and their 70s—and a range of professional experience, with individuals from academia, civil service, law and different corporate environments. It goes to show how indispensible feminist ideas and spaces are to women of all generations and backgrounds in Singapore. The breadth of AWARE’s efforts is made possible by the rich, multifaceted vision of our leadership.”

 

Annex

AWARE Board 2022-2024: Positions and Biographies

President: Ong Soh Chin is an editorial and PR consultant. Previously, she was Southeast Asia PR Director at Netflix, overseeing Publicity and Communications for Southeast Asia. Soh Chin has also served as Deputy Director, External Relations and Strategic Planning at the Institute of Policy Studies, as well as Asia-Pacific Editor and Speechwriter with the global editorial team at Shell. A veteran journalist and editor who has covered the arts, entertainment, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, politics and current affairs in her career, she worked on different desks at The Straits Times, where she wrote regularly about women’s rights and gender equality. She is currently pursuing a part-time postgraduate diploma in Counselling Psychology.

Treasurer: Aarathi Arumugam is an entrepreneur whose career trajectory has taken her along different paths, from corporations to volunteer organisations to start-ups. Since becoming a member in 2009, Aarathi has volunteered with AWARE as a trainer, educating and raising awareness about workplace sexual harassment and comprehensive sexuality education. In 2019, she also conceptualised and executed a series of events called Kitchen Movements, to raise awareness and funds for a women’s charity in Singapore. Aarathi also currently serves as Daughters Of Tomorrow’s Financial Controller.

Assistant Treasurer: Kathy Park is President at CooperVision, spearheading Asia-Pacific business for the optical company. She has worked for various companies, such as Essilor and Johnson & Johnson, with a mission of improving people’s lives by improving their vision. She has played an active role in organising and advocating for women leadership at the workplace. With her experience leading a global company and serving on corporate boards, she is excited to be part of bigger changes to come in the landscape of gender equality.

Board Members:

Elisa Kang spent 13 years in wealth management advising clients on asset allocation and impact investments, before pursuing a Master’s in Counselling at Monash University in 2014. From 2016-18, Elisa worked as a part-time counsellor at Singapore Management University. She began her involvement in gender justice in 2007, volunteering in a microfinance consultancy in India and an NGO fighting violence against women and trafficking in Nepal. Elisa has been involved with AWARE since 2016: as a trainer with Catalyse, a counsellor, a volunteer Helpliner and a project manager for the Women’s Helpline expansion.

Fikri Alkhatib has been an AWARE member since 2012 and has volunteered on a number of advocacy and research initiatives, including the We Can! campaign to end violence against women and the Women’s Action website for SG50. She has a Masters in Sociology from Columbia University and is a former Public Service Commission scholar. Fikri recently left the civil service for a career in the non-profit sector.

Laavanya Kathiravelu is Associate Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University. Her research sits at the intersections of international migration, race and ethnic studies and contemporary urban diversity, particularly in Asia and the Persian Gulf. Her first book was Migrant Dubai (2016), which interrogated the experiences of low-wage migrant workers in the emirate of Dubai. She has also published widely on issues of race, inequality and migration in Singapore. Prior to joining NTU, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity. She was also a Fung Fellow at Princeton University between 2015-16. Laavanya is a board member of migrant welfare organisation HOME. In 2022, she is a Fulbright Scholar based at the City University of New York.

Penelope Shone was born in New Zealand. She has been a resident of Singapore since 1985, and an AWARE member for 20 years. Her career has unfolded in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, she led international public affairs and communications for General Electric across 150 countries. Prior to that, she was a managing director at Citigroup for 12 years, leading the company’s public affairs, communications and citizenship strategies across Asia Pacific. This included the supervision of 20,000 volunteers and $18 million in annual grants to NGOs.

Teo You Yenn has been a member and volunteer at AWARE since 2004. She is a sociologist whose research and teaching focus on poverty and inequality, governance and state-society dynamics, gender and class. She is the author of Neoliberal Morality in Singapore: How family policies make state and society (Routledge, 2011) and This Is What Inequality Looks Like (Ethos Books, 2018). She is one of the founding editors of AcademiaSG, a platform that promotes scholarship on Singapore and publicly engaged research.

Zheng Huifen has been an AWARE member since 2009 and is now a life member. She has volunteered with AWARE in various capacities, including the legal clinic, Helpliner training in Mandarin and updates to AWARE’s Constitution. Apart from AWARE, Huifen was a committee member of the Humanist Society (Singapore) between 2012 and 2017. At HSS, she helped to create a safe space for people identifying as atheist, agnostic, freethinking or secular. A corporate lawyer with a technology and payments focus, Huifen is also a founding member of the pro bono arm of the Association of Corporate Counsel in Singapore.

18 May 2022: Feminism For All Workshop

What does it mean to call yourself a feminist? What are feminist ideologies and how can we apply them to our daily lives? What are the most expedient ways to fight for gender equality?

These questions might not always have neatly defined answers. After all, the ideas and the discourse around feminism can be complicated—especially when theory comes up against the complexities of reality.

Feminism For All is a workshop for anyone who wants a dedicated occasion to discuss, unpack and gain a better understanding of feminism. Whether you are curious to learn more about gender equality in the Singaporean context, or want to advance along your own feminist learning journey, this interactive workshop will provide an overview of the foundational principles behind the movement, outline how they inform AWARE’s work, and empower you to apply various feminist values to your daily life.

This hands-on, in-person masterclass led by AWARE staff and members will have interactive segments, including small discussion groups and presentations.

Date: Wednesday, 21 April 2022

Time: 7PM – 9.30PM

Workshop outline:

  • Introduction to key terms
  • Brief history of feminism
  • Overview of core feminist concepts
  • Feminism in Singapore
  • AWARE’s work
  • Q&A

 

Safety Measures

This is an in-person workshop! You will need to meet at least ONE of the following criteria to be allowed into AWARE’s premises:

1. Completed two doses of approved vaccination, including the 14 days window after the second dose.
2. Recovered from Covid-19
3. Medically ineligible for Covid-19 vaccines
4. Children aged 12 years or below (i.e. born in or after 2010)

The use of the TraceTogether App/HealthHub App for safe check in and to present proof of vaccination is mandatory.

Register here!

Position Filled: We are hiring! Part-Time Helpline Executives, Sexual Assault Care Centre

AWARE’s Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) department is looking for two part-time Helpline Executives. They will serve as first responders for sexual assault survivors, and support staff and case managers in various projects.

If you are passionate about helping survivors reclaim control of their lives after experiencing trauma, join AWARE in its fight against sexual violence. You’ll play an essential, hands-on role at SACC—the only centre of its kind in Singapore. Read more about it here.

Position: Helpline Executive, Sexual Assault Care Centre
Department: CARE
Salary range: SGD$1,500 – $1,800
Term: Three-year contract
Starting date: 1 May 2022 or 1 July 2022 (two vacancies)
Work schedule: Monday to Friday, 2 – 6pm (starting in May) / 10am – 2pm (starting in July)

Job Description:

  • Ensuring high-quality and timely response to people reaching out to SACC through calls, WhatsApp, emails, walk-ins, referrals and other platforms
  • Scheduling clients with case managers, counsellors, etc. via phone, emails and/or face-to-face
  • Documenting and filing confidential notes, intake forms, etc.
  • Identifying and improving current processes, and coordinating updates of SOPs
  • Supporting staff and volunteers on various projects and ad-hoc programmes as required
  • Providing administrative and operational support to SACC

Requirements:

  • At least 1 year of work experience in a related field
  • Relevant educational qualifications such as social work, counselling, psychology or related field preferred
  • Must be proficient in English (verbal and written) and a second language (Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil, verbal and written)
  • Training on trauma is a bonus
  • Beneficial to have completed the four-month AWARE Helpliner Training
  • In addition to passion and commitment to AWARE’s mission and vision, we look for candidates who demonstrate the following:
      • Excellent interpersonal, empathy and communication skills in English (verbal and written)
      • Good analytical skills and commitment to confidentiality
      • Superb organisational and time management skills
      • Ability to use initiative and judgement to solve problems independently
      • Experience or interest in supporting or empowering individuals
      • Strong belief in gender equality and the values of AWARE
      • Computer-savvy, proficient in Google Workspace and MS Office (Word and Excel)

You must read and acknowledge our Privacy Statement here.

Please note that due to the large number of applications, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview. If you have any questions about this position, email careers@aware.org.sg.

Image-based sexual abuse featured in 1 in 2 cases of technology-facilitated sexual violence seen by AWARE in 2021

This post was originally published as a press release on 20 April 2022.

* Correction notice, 6 Dec 2022: When our analysis was performed in early 2022, our system had not captured the full range of TFSV cases seen by SACC. This error affected our 2019, 2020 and 2021 TFSV data. We have since amended all three posts accordingly. We sincerely apologise for the errors.

Half of the cases of technology-facilitated sexual violence seen by AWARE’s Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) in 2021 involved image-based sexual abuse (IBSA).

The gender-equality group today released its annual analysis of technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) cases.

TFSV is unwanted sexual behaviour carried out via digital technology, such as digital cameras, social media, messaging platforms and dating and ride-hailing apps. IBSA, meanwhile, is an umbrella term for various behaviours involving sexual, nude or intimate images or videos of another person. AWARE identifies five types of IBSA: the non-consensual creation or obtainment of sexual images (including sexual voyeurism); the non-consensual distribution of sexual images (including so-called “revenge porn”); the forced viewing of sexual images (including dick pics); sextortion; and others.

In total, AWARE’s SACC saw 227 new cases of TFSV in 2021—an increase from 2020 (in which SACC saw 191 new TFSV cases). TFSV cases made up more than 1 in 4 (27%) cases at SACC in 2021. SACC saw an overall decrease in new cases last year (856 new cases), after an all-time high in 2020 (967 new cases) led the centre to modify its service model to more efficiently manage cases via triaging and referral.

“The pace at which sexual violence evolves and adapts to new technologies, platforms and social contexts makes it hard for researchers and support service-providers alike to keep up,” said Shailey Hingorani, AWARE’s Head of Research and Advocacy. “Who would have guessed, even a decade ago, that image-based sexual abuse would be both so diversified and so ubiquitous? We have a long and confounding journey ahead of us, fighting this.”

Of the 227 TFSV cases in 2021, the perpetrator was someone known to the survivor in 189 cases (the remaining 38 comprising cases involving strangers or cases in which perpetrator identity was not disclosed to SACC). The highest reported categories of perpetrators in 2021 were intimate partners, current or former (57 cases, or 30% of cases where perpetrator identity was disclosed); as well as acquaintances* (57 cases, or 30%), followed by dating app contacts (32 cases, or 17%). Other categories of perpetrator included family members, friends and contacts from the workplace.

Where the age of the victim-survivor was disclosed to SACC, the highest number of cases fell into the 18-24 years age group in 2021 (39%), followed by the 25-34 years group (34%), under-18 years (13%) and 35-44 years (12%). A small percentage of victims were above 45.

Almost a quarter of cases in 2021 took place via messaging platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp, an increase in percentage from previous years. Other online spaces where TFSV took place include social media, video streaming sites, porn sites and online forums.

“We are not surprised that perpetrators find messaging to be an attractive medium for TFSV, given that the end-to-end encryption made possible on messaging platforms prevents law enforcement, and the platforms themselves, from viewing the content of messages,” noted Ms Hingorani. “Advocates have been sounding the alarm recently about how direct messages, or DMs, facilitate online abuse. The Center for Countering Digital Hate, for example, released its ‘Hidden Hate’ report on Instagram DMs in early April.”

Few TFSV clients known to SACC sought assistance from the platforms, i.e. by making reports and requesting the removal of images or the suspension of offending accounts. Reasons for the low reporting rate are unclear, though this is in line with observations in previous years.

On a positive note, Ms Hingorani cited recent initiatives to address TFSV, such as the Alliance for Action on tackling online harms, which recently released a survey on the issue, as well as the victim support centre for online harms that will be set up by Singapore Her Empowerment (SHE), a new organisation announced earlier this month. 

“We have been glad to see a rise in efforts to address technology-facilitated sexual violence in Singapore,” she added. “We are particularly impressed by the leadership shown by the government to introduce new codes of practice requiring platforms to put in place systems to ensure a safer online environment. Although many big technology companies have community standards to moderate content on their sites, these new codes of practice will hopefully streamline their obligations such that a minimum level of safety is assured on all platforms. Ideally, the new codes of practice will apply to a broad range of companies, not just big tech companies—as has been the regulatory approach in some other jurisdictions.”

* “Acquaintance” is defined as a pre-existing relationship not covered by the other categories. Examples from 2021 include classmate, neighbour, pastor, landlord and social media follower.

 

Infographics

 

See previous information on TFSV at SACC here. 

 

Annex I: Definitions

Technology-facilitated sexual violence is unwanted sexual behaviour carried out via digital technology, such as digital cameras, social media and messaging platforms, and dating and ride-hailing apps. While all TFSV cases involve an aspect of technology, the abuse sometimes occurs in offline spaces too, and can take the form of physical or verbal sexual harassment, rape, sexual assault, stalking, public humiliation or intimidation. TFSV behaviours range from explicit sexual messages and calls, and coercive sex-based communications, to image-based sexual abuse.

Image-based sexual abuse is an umbrella term for various behaviours involving sexual, nude or intimate images or videos of another person. AWARE identifies five types:

  1. The non-consensual creation or obtainment of sexual images: including sexual voyeurism acts such as upskirting, hacking into a victim’s device to retrieve such images, and/or the creation of such images via deepfake technology
  2. The non-consensual distribution of sexual images: sometimes known colloquially as “revenge porn”, whereby images shared willingly by a partner or ex-partner are then disseminated to others without the subject’s consent
  3. The non-consensual viewing of sexual images: whereby a victim is made to view sexual content, such as pornography or dick pics, unwillingly, e.g. over message or email
  4. Sextortion: whereby sexual images of a victim, obtained with or without consent, are used as leverage to threaten or blackmail that victim, in order to solicit further images and/or sexual practices, money, goods or favours
  5. Others: including the capturing of publicly available, non-sexual images which are then non-consensually distributed in a sexualised context, e.g. with sexual comments and/or on a platform known for sexual content, such as the “SG Nasi Lemak” genre of Telegram group

 

Annex II: Selected Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence Cases from 2021

Case A: The client found a hidden camera installed in the area where she worked. She discovered that it contained upskirt videos of herself and another colleague. She expressed concern about reporting this to her company or the police, as she felt uncomfortable about the prospect of other people viewing the videos, and worried about potential professional retaliation (e.g. if the company’s reputation came under fire).

Case B: The client met the perpetrator through an online dating app and agreed to get on a video call with him. During the call, the client suspected that the perpetrator might be impersonating someone as he looked different from photos on the dating app. Though the client was reluctant, the perpetrator insisted that the client undress on the video call, which the client eventually agreed to do. Upon hanging up, however, the perpetrator revealed that he had recorded the video call without the client’s knowledge or consent. He then blackmailed the client by threatening to share the video link on social media if the client did not immediately transfer a sum of money. The client managed to get the video taken down by reporting to the platform hosting it.

Case C: The client found out that her intimate videos, along with her name, had been leaked on multiple websites. She suspected that the perpetrator was her ex-partner, with whom she had consensually shared the videos during their relationship. Although one website took down the videos after she filed a police report, she was unable to remove them from other, international websites. The inclusion of her identity alongside the videos led to the client receiving an influx of follower requests from strangers over social media, which caused her distress. The police were ultimately not able to determine who uploaded the videos.

Case D: During an event hosted on Zoom, the client received sexually explicit chat messages from two participants via the private messaging function. Although she immediately informed the event organiser about the messages, no action was taken against the perpetrators. The client had to leave the event early to avoid further harassment. 

Case E: The client found out that a family member of her ex-partner was impersonating her on social media. This family member had obtained the intimate photos and videos that she had shared with her ex-partner during their relationship. The perpetrator had disseminated these on a fake social media account as well as on WhatsApp. He also inititated sexual conversations with other men online in the guise of the client, and gave these men the client’s phone number. As a result, the client received many harassing calls and messages from strangers. She has filed a police report against the perpetrator.

Sexual Assault Care Centre Closed 25-29 April, Reopening 4 May 2022

Our Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) will be closed from Monday, 25 April to Friday, 29 April 2022. This week-long closure will allow SACC to focus on operational changes that will strengthen the team’s capabilities. We seek your kind understanding and patience during this period.

All operations will fully resume from Wednesday, 4 May 2022 onwards, after the public holiday.

If you have experienced sexual assault within the last 72 hours, you may refer to this page for suggested actions, or consider other resources:

  • Call the National Anti-Violence Helpline at 1800 777 0000. They operate 24/7 and will be able to provide support for any violence you are facing.
  • For emergencies, please call 999 for the police.
  • Call 1767 for the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) if you have thoughts of hurting yourself, including thoughts of suicide.

Mentorship programmes not enough to improve gender parity, board diversity

This letter was originally published in The Straits Times on 14 April 2022. 

Career mentorship programmes were one of the proposed action plans in the recently endorsed White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development to support gender diversity on boards (Mentoring aspiring women directors to be board-ready, April 7).

Mentorship can certainly support aspiring female directors in better understanding their path to directorship and having increased networking opportunities.

Those who are mentored may also go on to become mentors themselves, effectively creating a pipeline of female directors.

But we must also recognise mentorship’s limits as a means of improving gender representation. Mentorship is hardly the only, or the most expedient, strategy we can adopt to improve gender parity on boards.

First, companies should use fairer methods such as board matching services to recruit directors.

Currently, companies rely heavily on personal networks, a process that tends to be highly biased.

Given that most boards are male-dominated, this recruitment process creates a feedback loop that contributes to skewed gender representation.

Also, many women face challenges when it comes to networking, as they may shoulder more family and caregiving responsibilities and thus have less time to spare than their male counterparts.

Formal search and nomination processes should be implemented to source strong candidates for boards.

In addition, boards in Singapore tend to be relatively entrenched.

For instance, the 2016 average tenure for board members in Singapore (9.4 years for male directors and 7.4 years for female directors) was longer than the regional average, which ranged from 3.1 to 8.7 years for male directors and from 2.4 to 5.8 years for female directors.

Renewing boards more often can give female aspirants more opportunities.

Lastly, we should remember to contextualise our low female board representation within the larger landscape of gender inequality at work.

Women don’t face a single glass ceiling at the pinnacle of their careers – they face obstacles at every stage of the professional pipeline. For instance, occupations and management functions tend to be gender-segregated.

Consequently, women do not have sufficient opportunities to gain the varied experiences required to move further up the path towards directorship.

Tackling systemic biases that hinder women at lower rungs will ultimately pay dividends at the board level.

Apoorva Shukla

Executive, Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory

Association of Women for Action and Research