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NUS Seminar on the harassment bill

The new Protection from Harassment Bill 2014 presented to Parliament on 3 March seeks to present a comprehensive approach to the problem of harassment in its different forms. Are these provisions good enough? Are there gaps which still remain? How do the provisions compare with legislation and developments in other jurisdictions?

On 25 March, Tuesday, come to an NgavelUS Law Seminar examining different aspects of the bill: sexual harassment and employer liability, civil liability, stalking and family violence, and cyber bullying. AWARE’s Executive Director, Corinna Lim, will be speaking about workplace sexual harassment.

Event details:
Date: 25 March (Tuesday)
Time: 4.30pm – 6pm
Location: Lee Sheridan Conference Room, Eu Tong Sen Building, Faculty Of Law, Nus, Bukit Timah Campus (directions)

Click here to register! Registration is free, and closes on 18 March.

Speakers:

Ms Corinna Lim, Executive Director, AWARE

Assistant Professor Goh Yihan, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

Associate Professor Chan Wing Cheong, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

Associate Professor David Tan, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

Chaired by Professor Tan Cheng Han, S.C., Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

Roundtable: The Harassment Bill: promises and problems

gavel

The Protection from Harassment Bill is an exciting step forward for women’s rights in Singapore and a major advocacy success for AWARE.

But even as we celebrate the greater protections and remedies it affords, as well as the cultural shift it will hopefully herald, questions remain about the new law’s gaps and shortcomings.  What legal ambiguities remain in the remedies?  How will the Protection Order operate in practice?  What can we do to ensure employer responsibility also gets onto the legislative agenda?

Join us at a special roundtable on 1 April to explore these and other questions.

Event details:
Date: 1 April, Tuesday
Time: 7.00 – 9.00 pm
Venue: AWARE Centre

Please click here to register!

Speakers:

Corinna Lim is the Executive Director of AWARE. An experienced lawyer, Corinna has counselled many victims of harassment and stalking through AWARE’s support services, including the Sexual Assault Befrienders Service. Corinna worked closely with the Ministry of Law for the creation of this bill.

Associate Professor Chan Wing Cheong, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, is a regular speaker at conferences and forums on criminal law and family law. His research interests lie in criminal and family law, extending to child law, victims of crime and elder law.

AWARE’s statement on the public order bill

AWARE is gravely concerned by the proposed introduction of expanded police powers by the Public Order (Additional Temporary Provisions) Bill (the “Bill”).  We call upon the government to withdraw the Bill and, failing that, Members of Parliament to reject the Bill.

The Bill proposes to grant extensive powers to the police and auxiliary police, curtailing the rights and liberties of civilians.  In particular:

  • The legislation targets a specific area predominantly frequented by and associated with a particular racial group, and therefore has a strongly racially differentiated impact.  Moreover, the migrant workers especially affected by these restrictions are a marginalised group in Singapore, whose rights, welfare and social status are significantly compromised compared to those of citizens, residents and other classes of workers.
  • The legislation grants the police and auxiliary police extensive powers to stop, search and question civilians in an extremely intrusive manner, which compromises not just the freedom of movement but also, in the case of the proposed “strip search” powers, the right to bodily autonomy.  The exercise of these powers is based on a wide grant of discretion.  They can be invoked as long as the officer “reasonably considers it necessary”, an inadequately loose standard to meet for actions that so substantially affect human dignity.

Any legislative measure of this nature requires an extraordinary justification.  It could only be acceptable if introduced as the result of extensive and impartial investigation which demonstrated its necessity in order to avert an immediate and severe threat to human life or well-being.  Even in such as case, these powers could only be condoned after consideration of alternatives of a less potentially discriminatory and intrusive nature.  None of these preconditions has been met in this case.

Ms Lynn Lee, Mr Andrew Loh, Ms Shelley Thio, Dr Vincent Wijeysingha and Ms Rachel Zeng (together, the “authors”) have written a Briefing Paper on the Bill, dated 10 February 2014 (the “Briefing Paper”).  We agree with the authors that this Bill will weaken the stature of the Committee of Inquiry (the “CoI”) which is to investigate the causes and nature of the events of 8 December 2013.  The CoI should be given a chance to fulfil its mission thoroughly and impartially, without the influence of the assumptions underlying this precipitate legislation.

Blaze a trail this International Women’s Day

iwd logo 1-1What makes you angry? What gives you hope? On International Women’s Day (8 March), join AWARE and the We Can! campaign at Hong Lim Park to explore these questions at All Fired Up!

This electrifying day of celebration will bring together people of all ages, genders and walks of life to share the struggles and successes of the women’s movement in Singapore.

Date: 8 March (Saturday)
Time: 4pm – 8pm
Location: Hong Lim Park
Click here to register!

Stand in solidarity with inspiring slogans and songs, or explore urgent social issues at booths set up by civil society groups. Go wild with our themed graffiti wall, and pass on the flame of hope at our candlelight vigil for the past, present and future of the women’s movement. Art, music, poetry and speeches: All Fired Up! has something for everyone.

Programme highlights:

feminist_fistWorkshop: celebration toolkit  (4 – 5.30pm)

What’s a party without props? Join us for an afternoon of placard- and banner-making to set your message ablaze. We’ll work together to craft slogans and chants for the evening’s festivities.

Bellyful from EtiquetteSG (4 – 6pm)

Celebrate the fire in your belly! Artist and writer Dana Lam, with support from EtiquetteSG, will create plaster casts of bellies big and small of any age, colour and gender. We hope to have enough belly casts to cover the lawn for the candlelight vigil.

Women Blazing a Trail (5.30 – 7.30pm)

What makes you angry? What gives you hope? Women and their allies step up to answer these questions with honesty and verve, through speech and poetry – with slogans and chants to get everyone all fired up!

Some speaking slots are open. If you have a tale of anger and hope that you’d like to share, please contact Sumedha at sumedha@aware.org.sg by 28 February.

vigil

Candlelight vigil for the women’s movement: past, present and future (7.30 – 8pm)

A show of unity to celebrate our past successes and get us geared up for the challenges of the future.  Old and young will stand together and share in the light of hope.

Please register for this event here. If you would like to set up a booth for your organisation at All Fired Up!, contact Sahar at sahar@aware.org.sg.

Note: We welcome people of all nationalities to join us.  However, there may be legal limitations on participation for non-Singaporeans in some activities (e.g. slogans).  We apologise for these restrictions, which are not of our choosing.  Please do come and take part in everything else.

—
Canada image This event is kindly supported by the High Commission of Canada.

Roundtable: Healthcare Reform in Singapore

doctors

Healthcare in Singapore has been much discussed this past year. Join us on 8 February to discuss what the future might hold for healthcare reform in Singapore, with the annual Singapore Budget coming up soon.

The discussion will highlight trends in Singapore’s healthcare reforms, and explore potential future directions. We will discuss explanations for why Singaporeans do not feel comforted by government reassurances of healthcare affordability, and what the government’s likely plan will be in Budget 2014. We will also talk about the role of civil society in contributing to the dialogues and debates on health reforms.

Event details:
Date: 8 February, Saturday
Time: 2:00pm
Location: AWARE Centre
Click here to register! 

wings

This event is part one of the AWARE-WINGS Seminar Series. Part two of this seminar series will be held at WINGS in mid-April.

AWARE-WINGS Seminar on Healthcare Part 2
Topic: Will the Healthcare Needs of an Aging Population be Met?
Date: April 12, 2014
Time: 2pm
Location: WINGS, 9 Bishan Place, Junction 8 Office Tower #05-01.

Speaker’s Bio:

Jeremy LimDr. Jeremy Lim is the author of ‘Myth or Magic: The Singapore Healthcare System’. A medical doctor by training, he is a partner with a global consulting firm and has previously held senior level appointments in the public and private sectors in Singapore. He is a regular commentator on health policy whose writings feature regularly in the Straits Times and TODAY.

Breaking the silence of violence at the Arts Fest

arts festThe We Can! campaign held its inaugural arts festival on 8 December 2013, a rainy Sunday afternoon that did not deter more than 250 people from attending and squeezing into the rooms and corridors of Aliwal Arts Centre to break the silence of violence.

The We Can! Arts Fest aimed to start a dialogue about the more intangible forms of violence and the importance of bystander intervention.

audienceThere was something for everyone, with diverse and interactive programmes ranging from performance art pieces such as ‘there’s nothing here’, experimental theatre combining dance and performance poetry by a collective of students from Yale-NUS, exploring the issue of psychological violence and bystander intervention; and a spoken word performance.

mirrors

Visitors explored beauty myths and the pressure on women to look attractive with programmes such as ‘Pretty Ugly’, an interactive installation which asked festival attendees to make up models to be “pretty” or “ugly”, and ‘Mirror mirror’, which allowed visitors to write down the negative labels they hear about appearance and body image on a mirror.

Visitors also attended film screenings of the movies ‘Girl Rising’ and ‘Provoked’, discussing the provocative aspects of the films. The Human Library, one of the most popular programmes, allowed attendees the opportunity to have conversations with the women we don’t normally hear, such as foreign domestic workers and survivors of sexual violence.

Responses were very encouraging – 80% of attendees rated the sessions they’’d attended as “very good” and 74% said that the arts fest helped them understand more about violence against women. A fantastic 84% of respondents said that they felt better able to help those around them who may be dealing with violence.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without our volunteers, who were generous with their time and energy; our partner organisations, UN Women, Project X, Room to Read, Beautiful Women, KAPAP, and HOME; and our sponsors, the Delegation of the European Union to Singapore, Word Forward, and Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple.

If you missed the arts fest, you can read more about it in the Straits Times report here. If you joined us, thank you very much for your support. We look forward to seeing you at the next one!

Roundtable: Representation of Women in Indian Politics

femaleleadership

Join us at AWARE on 29 January 2014 to discuss the low representation and participation of women in Indian politics.

Despite the presence of several prominent female politicians, the participation and presence of women in the Indian political system is insignificant. Women’s bid to challenge political monopolies and enter formal political institutions in India have generated much discussion, interest and opposition. Come discuss and understand these debates at our roundtable.

Event Details:
Date: 29 January 2014, Wednesday
Time: 5.30pm
Venue: AWARE Centre, Block 5 Dover Crescent #01-22 S’pore (130005)
Click here to register!

Speaker: Zoya Hassan, professor of political science and the Dean of School of Social Sciences(SSS) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and a former member of the National Commission for Minorities.

Abstract:

More than six decades after Independence, women have fewer than 10 percent of the seats in parliament. Until the reservation of 33 percent seats for women in local government bodies came into being in 1992, gender bias pervaded all levels of governance in India.

The demand to reserve one-third seats in local and national legislatures marks a turning point in the debate over gender equality. Women’s bid to challenge political monopolies and enter formal political institutions has generated much discussion, interest and opposition.

This roundtable will examine the debate around quotas for women and discuss whether these debates help us understand the political processes and the deeper structural and power dynamics that affect the making of policies and laws in India.

You can register for the event here.

Roundtable: Singapore Budget

budget

As we have done over the last two years, AWARE is organising a forum on the Annual Singapore Budget. The Government’s public consultation on Budget 2014 runs from 22 November 2013 to 29 January 2014. To contribute to this public consultation, AWARE invites you to a discussion about our concerns on issues that we feel strongly about.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Saturday, 18 January 2014

Time: 2pm-5pm

Venue: AWARE Centre Block 5 Dover Crescent #01-22 S’pore (130005)

Panel of speakers include: Donald Low, Associate Dean (Executive Education and Research) and Senior Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and Dr Vivienne Wee, Research and Advocacy Director, AWARE Singapore.

Commentators are Dr Kanwaljit Soin, Founding President, Women’s Initiative for Ageing Successfully (WINGS), and Yeoh Lam Keong, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies.

Abstract

Over the last two years AWARE has made recommendations to the Minister of Finance as part of the public consultations for Budget 2011 and Budget 2012.

This year, building on our past advocacy efforts, AWARE is advocating for a care economy that will focus on:

a. Comprehensive healthcare

b. Adequate support for care giving

c. Reducing income inequality and poverty

d. Increasing support for marginalized groups, such as the elderly, disabled and single, unwed mothers

At this forum, we will be presenting our recommendations for Budget 2014. Please come to express your views so that they may be incorporated into our recommendations.

You can register for the event here.

If you have registered and would like to receive our draft recommendations before the forum on Jan 18, please email Moana Jagasia at moana@aware.org.sg.

Also, do view the recommendations we made in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Roundtable: The International SlutWalk Movement

On 19 December, learn about SlutWalk movements around the world with Dr Andrea O’Reilly, a professor travelling around Asia to research her soon-to-be-published book on the International SlutWalk Movement.

slutwalkSlutWalk started in Toronto, Canada in 2011 as a response to a police officer’s comment that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order to not be victimised.”

The statement sparked a strong movement against slut-shaming and victim-blaming, protesting a culture that blames victims for rape and assault, and spreading globally with the creation of SlutWalk groups around the world.

SlutWalk Singapore started in December 2011 with workshops and discussions around consent, sexuality and social attitudes, leading up to a gathering in Hong Lim Park.

On 19 December, Dr. O’Reilly will discuss her participation in the first-ever SlutWalk in Toronto, and the findings from her book on the international SlutWalk movement.

Event details:
Date: 19 December, Thursday
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Venue: AWARE Centre
Click here to register!

Speaker’s Bio:

Andrea O’Reilly, PhD, is Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University, Toronto. She is founder and director of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative and founder and editor of the Demeter Press, the first feminist press on motherhood. Dr. O’Reilly is currently editing a book on the international slutwalk movement.