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Aware backs NTUC’s suggestions to help lower-income workers

This letter was first published by The Straits Times on 22 February 2019.

We refer to the report (NTUC urges higher wage payouts for younger low-income workers, Feb 13).

The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) agrees with NTUC’s point that, if the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) is intended to be an income supplement to reduce income inequality, then it should be pegged only to income, and not age and income as it currently is.

NTUC proposes that all workers regardless of age receive the same quantum payout. We want to push the envelope on this recommendation and urge the Government to consider lowering the current age eligibility criteria of 35 for lower-income families.

Our experience showed that many of the lower-income workers were second-generation poor who were forced to prematurely stop their education at the N or O levels to supplement their household incomes.

Although they averaged 36-40 years in age, they were still working in the same type of jobs in F&B and retail, and earning more or less the same income, as when they first started work at 16 years old.

To break the cycle of poverty, we should supplement the income of these second-generation poor workers at the time they start having children.

Thus, WIS eligibility for low-wage workers with children should be pegged at 30, the median age of the mother at first birth, or at the time the lower-income worker has his or her first child.

The earlier intervention will go some way to prevent a further cycle of poverty.

NTUC also points out the disparity in the needs of lower-income employees – who require cash for daily expenses – and the payout structure of WIS, which favours CPF to cash payouts in a ratio of 60:40.

This disparity is even starker for the lower-income self-employed, with Medisave to cash payouts at a 90:10 ratio.

We too urge the Government to review this so that it does not deplete the cash that low-income employees and the self-employed have available for immediate needs.

Finally, we must make a concerted effort to reach out to the large numbers of working poor who are not in formal employment.

These workers tend to be in ad-hoc jobs. They are technically covered by WIS under the self-employed category but many of them, are not aware of this.

We urge the Manpower Ministry to help this group access WIS benefits.

Shailey Hingorani (Ms)

Head of Advocacy & Research

AWARE

Budget lacks urgency and vision to tackle Singapore’s ageing needs

This post was originally published as a press release on 19 February 2019.

AWARE welcomes some key moves announced by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat’s Budget 2019 speech, towards expanding health care financing and acknowledging the burden of caregiving. However, we are surprised and disappointed that the government did not take this opportunity to formulate a more expansive and bold strategy to address urgent problems of ageing and caregiving.

“Although the government announced a slew of new measures to support ageing-related care needs of Singaporeans, such as the Long-Term Care Support Fund, benefits were restricted to one generation, and were mostly one-off. We would have liked to see a more comprehensive package for individuals entering their silver years,” said Shailey Hingorani, AWARE’s Head of Advocacy and Research.

Many Singaporeans are increasingly concerned about rising healthcare costs, and understandably so, because 1 in 2 of them over the age of 65 could become severely disabled during their lifetimes. We are pleased that the government has targeted the care needs of lower-income individuals with the expansion of Community Health Assist Scheme to provide healthcare support for common ailments. However, in continuing to extend benefits on a generational basis – this year through the Merdeka Generation Package – the government missed a real opportunity to assure all Singaporeans of a secure future when they are elderly.

“We were expecting more because we only have a few years to get our long-term care services and support systems right. We hoped for a much more ambitious vision of universal long-term affordable care to assure all Singaporeans, not just a single generation, that they will be well cared for, whatever their economic status. For example, we would have liked to see the Pioneer Generation Package extended to all persons upon reaching age 65, and CareShield premiums made gender-neutral,” said Ms Hingorani.

AWARE’s ninth annual Budget recommendations, submitted on 11 January, proposed direct financial support (through a matched savings scheme) for caregivers, who tend to mostly be women. We are pleased to hear that the government will top up CPF by up to $1,000 for about 300,000 eligible Singaporeans aged 50-64 – especially because, as the Minister explained, the majority of these recipients will be women who left the workforce early to provide care for their families.

“Family caregiving and ageing affect women disproportionately,” said Ms Hingorani. “We hope that this will not be a one-time measure and the government will consider other initiatives such as a matched savings scheme for women aged 30 – 55 years who have not yet achieved the Basic Retirement Sum. After all, there will always be those who need care, and those who have to give it.”

This can be funded by the imposition of more progressive forms of taxation. Singapore’s top marginal tax rate of personal income tax could be increased, which is currently quite low (22%) compared to OECD countries (average rate 33.5%). The government could also consider introducing a wealth tax (e.g. estate duty, capital gains tax) that taxes assets of $2.5 million and above, excluding the first million.

“From our perspective, universal healthcare is an investment in our population,” said Ms Hingorani, “and the best way to carry it out is via redistributive taxation, which narrows the gap between rich and poor.”

For AWARE’s full 11 January 2019 Budget recommendations, ​read our ​“4G Budget: A Budget for All Generations”​.

A Recap: Sexual Assault First Responder Training

Written by Ericia Yeo, AWARE intern

It is one thing to endure the trauma of sexual assault. It is another to disclose one’s assault to a trusted individual, and then be blamed or chided for what happened.

Lack of support and unempathetic responses don’t just hinder a survivor’s healing process, they can also intensify the impact of trauma. This is what’s known as the second wave of trauma.

On Saturday, 2 February 2019, AWARE’s Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) organised the first public run of its Sexual Assault First Responder Training, as part of AWARE’s Aim for Zero campaign. The response was overwhelming, with more than 60 working professionals and students from the social sector attending the workshop. Led by trainers Anisha Joseph and Lim Xiu Xuan from SACC, participants familiarised themselves with Singapore’s legal framework around sexual assault, trauma reactions and symptoms, and practical skills of first response to better support survivors.

Consent and communication—the bedrock of healthy and mutually respectful sexual interactions—were discussed at the beginning of the workshop. Trainers shared a video about workplace sexual harassment, and participants engaged in a robust conversation about the seemingly ambiguous nature of consent.

Participants were split into two different camps and were asked to share their reasons why a particular act in the video constituted sexual harassment, or why it didn’t. It was clear that there were numerous social ideologies that influenced the way everyone in the room thought about the markers of consent.

For example, sharing a taxi with someone and letting them know your address—as a character does in the video—isn’t an invitation for sex. Not resisting someone’s advances is not an invitation for sex, either. Perhaps obtaining explicit consent from someone seems “troublesome”, but it really can be simple—and verbal consent protects both parties. As trainer Anisha, AWARE’s Head of CARE Services, pointed out, “Isn’t it easier to just ask for verbal consent, instead of hurting someone or risking legal consequences?”

One participant brought up the idea that negotiating consent takes the romance out of dating: “Isn’t it awkward to ask for consent at every step of the way?”

Another participant countered that consent doesn’t always have to be sought in a single, boring manner. Questions like “Is this OK?” and “Does this feel good?” are also effective ways to check in on a partner at any point during sex.

When discussing the self-blame and shame that survivors feel after being assaulted, one of the trainers recalled a particularly powerful incident with a former SACC client. This client kept guilt-tripping herself for having drinks at a club and therefore being “responsible” for her own subsequent assault.

“I told her this: You were out, and yes, you had quite a bit to drink. But of all the hundreds of people in the club, only one person chose to take advantage of you.”

Self-blame can be an instinctive a way for a victim to “reclaim control”, psychologically speaking, over a situation after having her autonomy robbed from her. But that kind of thinking is a fallacy. Nobody should be blamed for their own assault.

So how does one become a better first responder to sexual assault? Responding to a survivor’s disclosure can be tough—what if we say the wrong things? To help first responders, SACC conceived of four essential and intuitive statements to say to a survivor:

It’s not your fault.

It’s your choice how you want to move forward.

It’s your experience, not anybody else’s.

I’m here to support you.

These ground rules are extremely relevant and critical, considering the lasting and pervasive impact of sexual assault.

The workshop concluded with the launch of the Sexual Assault First Responder (SAFER) Network, which aims to build collective support from a base of trained sexual assault first responders. The SAFER Network would allow SACC to engage community partners and allies who want to raise public awareness about sexual violence and create a supportive environment for survivors.

By the end of the workshop, over lunch, the buzz of ideas and questions made clear that participants had a lot to take in, process and give voice to. If you or someone you know has experienced any form of sexual assault or harassment, you can reach out to SACC through the helpline (6779 0282), or email sacc@aware.org.sg.

SACC is co-organising a Sexual Assault Awareness Training on Saturday, 23 February 2019, alongside Derring-Do Dance. Sign up to attend here.

AWARE urges complete closing of gaps in rape law; urges further reform and public education on consent, repeal of Section 377A

This post was originally published as a press release on 13 February 2019. 

AWARE welcomes the moves in the Criminal Law Reform Bill, introduced in Parliament on Monday, that mostly remove marital immunity for rape, and expand existing rape and sexual assault laws – for the former, including non-consensual penetration to the mouth and the anus, and for the latter, including non-consensual penetration perpetrated by women against men.

“Everyone deserves to be protected by law against sexual violence of any kind, regardless of marital status and gender,” said Corinna Lim, Executive Director of AWARE. “We are glad and relieved to see these lacunae in the law finally be addressed.”

However, the group is concerned that the Bill maintains marital immunity for sexual activity with minors over the age of 12 and under the age of 16, who are said to “consent”. A man who has sex with a 15-year-old girl would ordinarily be deemed guilty of sexual penetration of a minor (under S376A), regardless of her apparent agreement, but the Bill deems such a minor wife capable of “consenting” to sexual activity with her husband.

The Bill further introduces new forms of marital immunity in respect of several sexual offences perpetrated against minors, such as the production and distribution of “child abuse material”.

“There is confusion in this law,” said Ms Lim. “Mostly, it rightly stipulates that minors cannot consent to sexual activity with adults; such situations are inherently exploitative and therefore criminal. To say that marriage cancels out this exploitation is deeply regressive – child marriage is itself abusive.”

AWARE also expressed disappointment that the Bill declined to codify the definition of “consent” as it recommended in its submission to the Ministry in September 2018.

“This is a valuable opportunity to codify the strong case law that the courts have produced over the years, clarifying various aspects of consent,” said Ms. Lim. “We hope that the Ministry will reconsider this. We have observed that current poor understanding of consent sometimes prevents survivors from reporting abuse. A positive statutory definition would replace the myths and prejudices that often influence these decisions.”

Nevertheless, Ms. Lim said, “Most of the proposed changes are welcome. It will be important, after the Bill is passed, for the government to launch a public campaign to educate on consent, sexual assault and the new offences that have been introduced.”

Finally, Ms. Lim added, “As we move towards more humane and inclusive laws, centred on protection from violence and respect for bodily autonomy rather than gendered concepts of sexual purity, the prejudices expressed in Section 377A become increasingly anomalous. It is time to repeal it.”

Find AWARE’s full September 2018 proposed amendments to the Penal Code here.

The limitations of Fresh Start

fresh start housingBy Vivienne Wee, Research & Advocacy Director, and Jolene Tan, Programmes and Communications Senior Manager, AWARE

Poverty and housing have recently come into focus in the news. The Fresh Start Housing Scheme, touted as addressing housing affordability, is intended to help former flat owners living in public rental flats transition back to HDB ownership. Beneficiaries are to obtain grants, concessionary loans and shorter leases – but only if they meet conditions such as continuous employment and regular school attendance.

We commend this concern for the housing security of low-income families, many of whom comprise single parents (including predominantly divorced mothers) and their children. Our work and interviews with single mothers, however, point us toward certain gaps in the thinking and design of the Scheme. We have raised these concerns in a letter to the Prime Minister as well as Ministers Khaw Boon Wan, Lawrence Wong and Tan Chuan-Jin. Here is a summary of our key points.

Is flat purchase really the priority?

Following divorce, for many single mothers, impoverishment and homelessness are pressing threats – but they need immediate access to rental housing, not eventual access to housing ownership.

Many women drop out of the workforce during marriage or after childbirth to care for their families – with 273,300 women citing “family responsibilities” as the main reason for being outside the labour force, compared to 12,200 men (MOM statistics). On divorce, they are financially vulnerable, without savings or CPF of their own, and with no access to an equitable share of their spouse’s CPF.

This situation is often exacerbated by the sale of the matrimonial home, whether by court order or because the single mother cannot meet mortgage payments after taking over her former spouse’s share of the home. At this point, obtaining an interim rental flat or rental flat from HDB can be extremely difficult. Single mothers’ applications to rent are often denied because of:

  • Profits from the sale of the matrimonial flat – though much of this is eaten up by the mortgage, legal fees and other divorce-related debt
    30-month debarment after the sale of the flat
  • They exceed the ceiling for monthly income for rental flats ($800 for one-room, $1,500 for two-room).
  • Other family members are assumed to be able to provide temporary housing.
  • One single mother said she was regarded by HDB as “too well-off to qualify for a rental flat, but too poor to buy a flat.” Many are forced to rent in the open market, depleting what assets or savings they have left. By the time the 30-month debarment period is over, even if they did not start out poor, they have become poor. It is thus rental access rather than home ownership which needs attention.

More fundamentally, we question whether flat ownership is enough to help families escape poverty. Are they truly financially better off in the long term for owning a flat? Should we instead consider improving access and conditions of low-cost rental housing for people with limited or unstable income?

Eligibility conditions – punishing poor families for circumstance?

Assistance under Fresh Start is to be conditional on continuous employment and regular school attendance. Minister Lawrence Wong wrote that families need to “show the commitment to put their lives and finances in order”. Yet poverty itself often leads to gaps in employment and schooling. Rather than punishing families for this circumstance by withdrawing assistance, it would be more productive to understand the root causes of these problems to design solutions.

Continuous employment is especially hard for single mothers to achieve. Once again, women are penalised for leaving employment for family care. Years of caregiving are not counted as work experience by prospective employers. One single mother reported: “people do not even want to hire single parents…. I was turned down many times when they heard I have kids and was not working for 10 years.” This situation is even more difficult for those women who have never been employed. Some in Interim Rental Housing (IRH) are also deterred from working, because they are required to share the flat with co-tenants with whom they are not familiar or comfortable. As a result, they are not confident about the safety of their children if they are not at home to supervise.

Caregiving was also a particular issue for the many mothers of disabled children that we interviewed. Their children were unable to attend regular school, and it was difficult for their mothers to find appropriate educational institutions. It was therefore not feasible for them to be continuously employed.

Among those who obtain work, financial hardship is common – because when they earn more income, the price of HDB rental housing often goes up. One single mother said, “This flat now – I am not working and they are still charging me $120 [rent]for this. If I got a job now, they would probably up it to $250.” Another concurred: “For your income, you’re already earning a low income. $1,600, $1,700 is not a big amount! But the way they calculate the rental, it just gets higher and higher! If our salary gets higher, the rental gets higher and higher.” It becomes extremely difficult for the family to accumulate any savings.

Moreover, if a single mother starts working, subsidies drop on the assumption that she can immediately pay for all her children’s expenses, such as childcare, afterschool care and school bus. But this is not the case. Employment carries additional costs, such as transport and lunch, and she may have debts to repay, for instance from the legal costs of divorce. From AWARE’s experience, the potential loss of subsidies for children (especially disabled children) deters single mothers from seeking jobs or higher pay, as they may become worse off financially, compared to when they were unemployed.

Likewise, unstable housing impacts children’s school attendance. Shunted from place to place in the quest for housing, children may live far from their schools. Many living in IRH flats leave for school in the wee hours of dawn when it is still dark. They have an equally long journey after school to go back to their rented “home”, where they may not have the space, time or quiet to do their homework.

Moreover, there is generally no consideration of family size in the allocation of rental flats. In one case, five adults were expected to squeeze into one room. Such dense congestion in a small space is not conducive to children studying.

This situation is worse for the Singaporean children of foreign single mothers without residence status, because these mothers are ineligible to apply for all public housing. This leads to very precarious conditions of life which place these children at great risk – making regular school attendance challenging.

A better way forward

Fresh Start represents a recognition of the need to address impoverishment and housing, but its effectiveness is limited by its focus on housing ownership and the approach toward eligibility conditions, which does not do enough to take into account or address the underlying conditions of poverty.

The government also needs to recognise that some families are stuck in day-to-day struggles, from generation to generation, because what they earn is simply not enough to meet rising costs of living. Without a basic safety net, they cannot strive for social mobility. While we agree that everyone who is employable should be employed, there is a class of working poor who simply do not earn enough to lift themselves out of poverty. Redistributive measures may need to be considered to address their circumstances, and help to ensure equality of opportunity for all Singapore’s children.

This article was first published on The Online Citizen on 4 March 2016.

Unwise to require parental consent for abortions

silhouette-teenBy Jolene Tan, Programmes and Communications Senior Manager, AWARE

We disagree with Mr Darius Lee’s recent call to require parental consent for under-18s to access abortions (“Restore parental consent for abortions for under-18s“; Forum Online, Feb 25).

Girls and young women who are fortunate enough to have a relationship of trust with their family would already voluntarily consult their parents, take into account their views, and receive their support, even without a formal consent requirement.

If this relationship of trust does not exist, then, requiring disclosure to parents against the minor’s will may expose her to the risk of family violence.

Moreover, Mr Lee does not consider the possibility that a minor’s pregnancy may be the result of sexual abuse by a family member. The unfortunate reality is that parents may be complicit in – or even the direct perpetrators of – such abuse.

A consent requirement has its biggest impact in a case where the minor has already decided to terminate the pregnancy but her parents might disagree. In such a case, the parents would be given the power to coerce the minor to carry the pregnancy to term and give birth against her will.

This situation is very different from age-based regulations on cigarettes, alcohol, marriage and contracts, which Mr Lee cites as parallels.

A parent who withholds consent to any of these enterprises will not materially harm the minor’s well-being and quality of life. They are experiences which the minor can access later, in adulthood, should he so choose.

By contrast, a minor seeking to terminate a pregnancy is already in a difficult situation and the decision cannot be deferred.

Carrying a pregnancy to term will have an enormous impact on her physical and psychological well-being as well as her social circumstances, possibly for the rest of her life. In this matter, her wishes should be respected as paramount, and not overridden by others.

The Health Promotion Board already provides additional mandatory counselling to under-16s to address their particular needs.

It may be helpful for the state to offer support and resources to assist voluntary mediation between parents and pregnant minors, but a consent requirement for abortion would be harmful.

This letter first appeared on The Straits Times Forum on 29 February 2016.

Caring for an ageing population: AWARE’s recommendations for the 2016 national Budget

typingAWARE’s sixth annual set of recommendations for the national Budget was submitted through the public consultation portal REACH on 26 February. In it, we focus our attention on the disproportionate impact of the ageing population on women, because of society’s reliance on mostly-female family members to meet burgeoning eldercare needs. We urge the government to budget for care as a social good, rather than leaving its costs for families to address on their own.

“We need to invest in a care economy to meet older people’s needs in a timely and holistic manner,” said Dr Vivienne Wee, Research & Advocacy Director of AWARE. “In addition to improving the quality of eldercare and preventing the ballooning of avoidable costs, this will remove the pressure on women to drop out of the workforce to provide unpaid caregiving, at the risk of their own impoverishment.”

Executive summary of recommendations

  1. We all know that the Singapore population is ageing. However, little attention is given to the disproportionate impact of this demographic trend on women. Society relies heavily on the unpaid work and substantial sacrifices of mostly-female family members to meet burgeoning eldercare needs. Government statistics suggest that at least ten times more women than men are out of the labour force due to care-giving provided to families and relatives. As a result, these family caregivers not only lose income, but themselves become the dependents of other working family members and very often have inadequate savings for old age. This negative economic impact is borne not only by them but also by society as a whole. The effects include labour shortages, impoverished older women, and a burden placed on limited family resources, thereby limiting the use of these for children and other family members.
  2. Singapore should therefore budget for care as a social good, rather than leaving its cost to families to address on their own. By taking far sighted measures to invest in a care economy, we can achieve the following:
    • Meet the needs of older people in a timely, holistic and accessible manner, preventing the avoidable ballooning and escalation of social costs associated with eldercare
    • Ensure that women are not forced to drop out of employment to provide care-giving, thereby maximising labour force participation and overall societal economic output; and
    • Free up resources for children and the development of working adults, potentially reversing the decline in fertility that accelerates the ageing population.
  3. Investing in a care economy will also reduce economic inequality, producing a fairer and more cohesive society. To this end, we make six recommendations:
    • Create or designate a coordinating office so that older people receive coordinated, person-centric care. Elderly persons have complex needs that require different services from different providers. Navigating the fragmented services demands substantial work from unpaid caregivers, who need time, an understanding of the care receiver’s needs, knowledge of the service and subsidy landscapes, and English ability. This places a significant burden on caregivers and, moreover, carries the risk that care receivers receive haphazard, inefficient and inappropriate care.
    • Provide free health screening and primary healthcare for chronic illnesses to ensure early intervention so that the overall care burden is reduced for caregivers. We recommend that primary health screening be made free to encourage more early intervention, hereby reducing the need for acute care. This will tremendously reduce the care burden by addressing preventable outcomes well in time, e.g. avoiding amputation from diabetes, which requires a much greater level of round-the-clock care.
    • Provide holistic assessment of older people’s care needs and state support for adequate care-giving, including home care provision. Successful models of comprehensive eldercare include AIC’s SPICE and AWWA’s care services. Ramping up the scale of their provision (or instituting new, similar programmes) would help to meet societal care needs on a wider scale. In addition, despite the efficacy and efficiency advantages of home care, it is not given enough financial support relative to the nursing home model, and even nursing homes remain unaffordable for many. Substantial state investment is needed on all these counts.
    • Support family caregivers through compensation, eldercare leave and flexible work arrangements. The value of family care should be materially recognised by the state, so that those who provide it do not risk personal impoverishment. Whether through CPF credits or a state allowance, this support should be a collective responsibility, not a problem to be solved household by household. To enable more people to combine care-giving with employment, options for eldercare leave and flexible working should also be mandated and supported.
    • Means-test individuals, not households, for social and care assistance for Intermediate and Long Term Care (ILTC). Exclusion of applicants from support based on gross household income or value of their residence is inappropriate, as that household income or property value may not translate into financial support for them. The Legal Aid Bureau uses a more nuanced form of person-centric means-testing, which could be adopted for social assistance for ILTC for greater inclusivity.
    • Invest in the care sector through Long-Term Care Insurance, better support for care workers, and training for family and non-family carers. Medishield Life should cover non-catastrophic illness, rehabilitative services and medication diagnosed after discharge, as these have long-term care implications that families may not be able to address on their own. More investment in work conditions, pay, training and quality in the sector will also go to improving the quality of care enjoyed by older people and alleviate pressure on family carers.

More details can be found in the full text of our submissions.

Recommendations that we have made for the national Budget in recent years can be found on our website: 2015, 2014, 2013

Singapore’s latest Universal Periodic Review

A guest blog post by Alison Kuah.almos

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.

 

Fair for All Families

fairforallfamilies-squareThis 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.

 

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