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Closed: Director, Development and Operations, AWARE

We are no longer accepting applicants for this role.

AWARE has grown significantly in the last decade from six staff members to a 40-person organisation. The addition of this newly created role of Director, Development and Operations (DDO) within AWARE’s Senior Management team will further enhance strategic growth, operational sustainability and impact as Singapore enters an exciting new phase, with the government seeking to establish gender equality as a core value of society.

Reporting to the Executive Director of AWARE, the DDO will have overall responsibility for increasing and diversifying AWARE’s fundraising revenue, to deliver annual fundraising growth of 25% over the next three years. The DDO will also be responsible for aligning and enhancing AWARE’s internal processes to support its ambitious strategic focus and growth. This includes managing the Finance, Office Operations, Membership and Volunteer Management functions (“Shared Services”) which support the programme departments.

This is an exciting opportunity for a leader with extensive experience in fundraising and/or business development and excellent general management skills; a person who is committed to social justice and is looking for a concrete way to contribute to society in Singapore.

The ideal candidate will be an excellent communicator and skilled relationship builder as well as an innovative and resourceful, dynamic and results-oriented leader—someone who is an inspiring people manager and an organised, hands-on collaborator who gets things done.

Position: Director, Development and Operations, AWARE
Salary range: SGD$8,000 – 10,000
Term: Full-time, permanent employment contract
Starting date: March/April 2022

Job Description

Fundraising

  • Develop and implement annual and multi-year fundraising plans, with customised strategies to cultivate, solicit and steward new and existing donors
  • Build and foster partnerships and networks to cultivate donors, members and advocates, positioning AWARE as a unique and powerful agent for positive change in Singapore
  • Leverage on personal and AWARE connections to engage progressive companies and their employees to support AWARE’s work
  • Oversee fundraising events, such as the annual AWARE Ball, donor cultivation and recognition events
  • Lead and develop the Fundraising team, comprising staff, interns and volunteers, to achieve the above
  • Actively serve as a spokesperson representing AWARE to its constituency as well as potential donors and supporters

Shared services

Lead, direct and develop AWARE’s Shared Services functions and staff to support AWARE’s strategic growth in an effective and sustainable way:

  • Finance – budgeting, accounting and financial management for AWARE, ensuring stewardship and integrity
  • Office Operations – general office management to ensure effective, high-quality work environment, office and technology systems
  • Constituency Management – engaging members and volunteers for leverage and impact

Senior Management

The Senior Management team is collectively responsible for anticipating future needs and opportunities, articulating AWARE’s strategic direction, achieving annual and longer-term strategic plans and ensuring the ongoing sustainability of the organisation.

Preferred Candidate Profile

 

  • Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident with university degree and minimum 15 years’ total professional experience. At least 10 years relevant experience in fundraising/business development and in leading and managing teams, preferably in the Singapore context
  • Strong track record with partners, foundations and individual donors in the non-profit sector, or successful business development or revenue generation experience in the commercial sector
  • Superior interpersonal, verbal, written and presentation skills and the ability to collaborate and build alliances; able to engage effectively and diplomatically with diverse groups of donors, volunteers, members and other constituents across different sectors, e.g., government agencies, non-profits and corporates
  • Has managed teams in a way that is consistent with AWARE’s mission, vision and values (diversity, choice, gender rights, respect for others); able to attract, engage, develop and retain the right staff in the right roles
  • Technologically savvy, well-versed in information systems and data management; able to leverage innovative tools and technologies. Ideally experienced in digital marketing
  • Collaborative, energetic, self-motivated and personable with sound judgement, strong organisational and problem-solving skills and a positive, forward-thinking mindset
  • Shares AWARE’s feminist perspective and understands what drives people to work and volunteer in the non-profit sector

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.

Position Filled: Senior Manager, Advocacy, Research and Communications

We are no longer accepting applicants for this role.

AWARE is expanding its Advocacy, Research and Communications (ARC) department to accelerate Singapore’s transition to a more gender equal society, in line with the government’s plan to establish gender equality as a core value of society.

This newly created role of Senior Manager, ARC will enhance AWARE’s capacity to make gender equality a reality in all aspects of our society: national laws and policies, workplaces, home, schools and community.

Working closely with the other departments and reporting to the Head of ARC, the Senior Manager, ARC will help to manage a broad range of efforts focused on furthering AWARE’s advocacy goals, including research projects, stakeholder outreach, project management and community engagement.

This is an exciting opportunity for an individual who is passionate and knowledgeable about women’s rights and gender issues, has at least five years of relevant experience in social policy-making and/or advocating for social justice, including conceptualising and implementing community campaigns for social change.

Position: Senior Manager, Advocacy, Research and Communications (ARC)
Department: ARC
Salary range: SGD$5,300 – 6,000
Term: Full-time, employment contract
Starting date: December 2021

Job Description

Advocacy and Research

1. The Senior Manager, ARC will work with the ARC Head to:

  • Implement sound, robust and effective advocacy strategies, work plans and departmental budgets for AWARE
  • Actively engage in the interpretation of research results, including framing research reports, policy papers and other programme deliverables
  • Maintain quality standards of AWARE’s research-oriented services, such as the  Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory
  • Work cross-functionally with the Women’s Care Centre and Sexual Assault Care Centre to analyse deidentified service data
  • Lead knowledge-development and data-management for key programme areas

Outreach and Networking

2. Work closely with the ARC Head to:

  • Identify and network with partner organisations, including other civil society organisations
  • Organise and participate in public/community events to further AWARE’s advocacy goals
  • Represent AWARE to stakeholders and the general public

Community Engagement

3. Work with other members of the ARC team to oversee and manage the development and delivery of trainings, such as AWARE’s Sexual Assault First Responder training and AWARE’s sexuality education programme aimed at parents.

Fundraising

4. Work cross-functionally with the fundraising team to identify fundraising opportunities, draft high-quality fundraising proposals, and prepare comprehensive monitoring and evaluation reports as required by funders.

Preferred Candidate Profile

 

  • Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident with university degree in social sciences, law, public policy or administration, or other relevant field
  • At least five years of experience working/advocating on gender equality issues, such as violence against women, labour rights, caregiving or related social justice issues
  • Working familiarity with local legislative frameworks, especially with respect to the rights of marginalised women and girls, ageing and caregiving, and workplace harassment and discrimination
  • Experience working with and managing internal and external stakeholders
  • Prior experience with policy analysis, public presentations, communications and community engagement
  • Strong interpersonal, verbal, written and presentation skills and the ability to collaborate and build alliances
  • High degree of flexibility and ability to work on a wide variety of policy issues
  • Has supervised teams in a way that is consistent with AWARE’s mission, vision and values (diversity, choice, gender rights, respect for others); able to attract, engage, develop and retain the right staff in the right roles
  • Technologically savvy, well-versed in information systems and data management; able to leverage innovative tools and technologies. Ideally experienced in digital marketing
  • Collaborative, energetic, self-motivated and personable with sound judgement, strong organisational and problem-solving skills and a positive, forward-thinking mindset
  • Shares AWARE’s feminist perspective

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.

9, 16, 23 November 2021: Birds & Bees, A Workshop for Parents

Most parents believe that it is important to talk to their children about sex, but many are unsure how to do it. Or, when to start having these conversations and about what. Where do children get answers to the questions they can’t ask their parents? The internet is one source, and young people themselves say they are most likely to ask peers and romantic partners. Wouldn’t you rather they turn towards you? The “ask-able” parent who is open to questions, ready to make an effort to listen without judgement and engage in a dialogue?

Who should attend:

Parents with children of all ages will benefit, although parents with tweens and teens are more likely to find the case studies and discussions in groups immediately relevant.

Date: Consecutive Tuesdays – 9, 16, 23 November 2021 (Participants are expected to attend all three sessions)

Time: 10.30am – 12pm

Workshop Fee: $20 (in total)

Survey: After you sign up, you will be asked to complete a short pre-workshop survey about the age(s) and number of your children. This is very important so that parents with children of similar ages can be grouped together to that you will get the most out of the workshop.

Special instructions for online workshop: As small-group discussions are a big part of the workshop, participants are expected to switch on their video as well as audio whenever possible, and to join in the discussions for maximum benefit.

Refunds and cancellations: Unfortunately we will not be offering refunds. In exceptional circumstances, if you are unable to attend the subsequent sessions, you will be able to join the next set of workshops if you write in to publiceducation@aware.org.sg in advance giving your reasons.

What the workshop will cover:

1. Communicating with your children

  • The importance of active listening
  • Tips on having constructive conversations

2. Consent

  • What is consent
  • The gold standard for consent
  • Consent in real life

3. Being an “ask-able” parent

  • Exploring own attitudes and value systems
  • Broaching awkward topics

4. Relationships

  • Signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships
  • Sexual Assault
  • Navigating the online world

Attend this workshop to explore how you can work on developing your own strategies to enhance the trust and bond with your child! Places are limited, so do sign up quickly!

**If you would like to join the workshop but cannot make it at this time, please fill in the indication of interest form.

Register here!

Limited service for Women’s Helpline and SACC Helpline: 23 and 24 September 2021

Please note that our Women’s Helpline (including call-back and chat services) and Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) will be operating with limited resources on Thursday and Friday, 23 and 24 September 2021. AWARE staff will be attending an organisational retreat on those days. This retreat will allow our staff some time to focus on our well-being, so that we can continue to offer quality services to callers and clients.

During this period, the Women’s Helpline will be running on limited service. This means that some calls may not be picked up. SACC‘s first response channels (Helpline, email and WhatsApp) and services will be entirely closed.

Our operations will fully resume on Monday, 27 September 2021. We will be able to respond to all messages from that day onwards.

You may contact the National Anti-Violence Helpline at 1800 777 0000 for support. 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. You can also call 1800 221 4444 for the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) if you have thoughts of hurting yourself, including thoughts of suicide.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and seek your kind understanding and patience during this period.

Online misogyny manifests in resentment around National Service and misconceptions around gender-based violence, and sees high engagement: Quilt.AI and AWARE study

This post was originally published as a press release on 2 September 2021.

A new study has filled in details in the picture of online misogyny in Singapore.

From April to August 2021, gender equality organisation AWARE and technology firm Quilt.AI conducted a collaborative research project using a proprietary machine-learning model to analyse publicly available online data. Researchers employed this model to study online discourse around gender-based violence, as well as opposition narratives to gender equality. The study focused on Singapore-based online activity, and charted how the above were impacted by COVID-19.

“We were excited to partner with the innovative team at Quilt.AI on this overdue look at online harms in the local context,” said Shailey Hingorani, AWARE’s Head of Research and Advocacy. “Our findings can inform interventions to address the scourge of misogyny as it gains ground in society, and make the online experiences of women and girls safer.”

Discourse on Gender-Based Violence

Quilt.AI’s machine-learning model was used to examine the online discourse around gender-based violence (GBV) in Singapore, as well as its volume, platforms and main proponents. The research team studied 700 public posts across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit and HardwareZone; as well as 1,620 comments on YouTube relating to GBV. From here, three main categories of “myths” (i.e. fallacies used to defend and justify GBV) were observed: confusion around consent (40%), diminishing or dismissing GBV (35%) and other forms of victim-blaming (25%). The model did also pick up on posts that featured outrage at and critique of these myths, as well as frustration towards institutions for not having better prevention and response systems for sexual violence.

The research team also studied 819,190 unique searches (between March 2019 and March 2021) of keywords relating to gender-based violence in Singapore. Searches relating to rape, sexual assault and consent all increased in the past year. On the other hand, searches about physical violence (specifically, intimate partner violence) and relevant help-seeking peaked around Singapore’s first COVID-19 circuit-breaker period (March-May 2020).

Opposition Narratives to Gender Equality

Researchers also identified five opposition narratives to gender equality from a sample of 500 posts on Twitter, Facebook and HardwareZone, using two parameters—frequency of posts and degrading misogynistic language aimed at women and girls—to classify each narrative as “extreme”, “moderate” or “weak”. The most prominent opposition narrative was found to be resentment over National Service (NS): Men bring up mandatory NS as a rebuttal in myriad conversations about inequalities and oppressions faced by women. Other prominent narratives centred on misconceptions around the aims of feminism, with men stating that the movement calls for “female dominance” as opposed to equality, and identifying perceived hypocrisy tied to imagined expectations of “gentlemanly” behaviour such as paying for dates.

High Engagement Rates

Lastly, the model found that female accounts on Twitter received twice as many misogynistic comments as a random sample of accounts. In terms of engagement, misogynistic comments were twice as likely to be “liked” and 4.5 times more likely to be retweeted when compared to non-misogynistic comments.

“These findings confirm what we have long suspected that women were experiencing online in Singapore, based on anecdotal evidence from AWARE’s clients and community,” said Ms Hingorani. “The speed at which misogynistic ideas proliferate online—when generated and promoted by anonymous users with little accountability for the harm they cause—should deeply concern anyone with an interest in gender equality. We hope that tech companies, the government and civil society can work harder to stamp out online misogyny through greater education, initiatives to encourage bystander intervention, and a duty of care to moderate user-generated data and images.”

“As a mission based technology firm, gender and climate are our two areas of focus,” said Anurag Banerjee, CEO of Quilt.AI. “A large part of the gender work done by us focuses on fighting misogyny online. We are glad to have been able to have supported AWARE’s efforts.”

Read the full report, “A study of online misogyny in Singapore”, here.

About AWARE

AWARE is Singapore’s leading women’s rights and gender-equality advocacy group. It works to identify and eliminate gender-based barriers through research, advocacy, education, training and support services. AWARE embraces diversity, respects the individual and the choices she makes in life, and supports her when needed. aware.org.sg

About Quilt.AI

Quilt.AI is a consumer research and behavior change company based in Singapore and the USA. It works with more than 100 organisations globally on increasing awareness and knowledge of human behavior on the Internet. Quilt.AI has been rated by the Economist as an “AI for Good” company as it focuses on using technology to address inequalities in gender and climate globally. quilt.ai

In response to the national gender equality review, AWARE launches historic omnibus report with 88 recommendations to remove barriers at all stages of women’s lives

This post was originally published as a press release on 29 July 2021.

29 July 2021 – Implement comprehensive sexuality education covering consent, violence and gender roles in all schools in Singapore. Place a legal obligation on employers to address workplace harassment. Impose a temporary, progressive gender quota on boards of publicly listed companies. Introduce a support grant for family caregivers and review care policies to be gender-neutral. Establish a Code of Practice that sets out the minimum standards of service and support to victim-survivors of sexual violence, to counter current inconsistencies in their experiences.

These are some of the proposals made by gender-equality group AWARE in a comprehensive 242-page omnibus report, titled “An Omnibus on Gender Equality”, released today. A culmination of 36 years of gender research and advocacy, the report brings together 88 of AWARE’s recommendations on issues faced by women over their life course, from youth to employment, motherhood, caregiving and retirement. It forms the second part of the organisation’s two-pronged output towards the government’s 2021 review of gender equality—the first being a series of policy wishlists generated by various communities brought together by AWARE, published earlier this month.

“Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said last September that gender equality should be ‘imprinted deeply into our collective consciousness’, so that every child in Singapore will grow up imbibing it,” said AWARE Executive Director Corinna Lim. “We could not agree more. This omnibus report is the fullest picture to date of the state of gender equality in Singapore: both a snapshot of the current landscape, and a roadmap for societal progress. Following this blueprint for policy change and public education will, we believe, lead to the fundamental mindset shift that both AWARE and the government are seeking.”

Issues tackled in the omnibus report are: (i) women, work and care, including the gender pay gap and female representation in the labour market; (ii) supporting older women, including ageing women’s retirement adequacy; (iii) gender-based and other forms of discrimination, including discrimination against pregnant women, single parents, disabled women, domestic workers, LGBTQ+ persons and Muslim women; (iv) violence against women, including campus sexual violence, workplace sexual violence and technology-facilitated sexual violence; (v) sexuality education; (vi) men and gender equality: (vii) national machinery to promote gender equality, such as the pledge and Constitution; (viii) the Women’s Charter and (ix) procedural issues in reporting sexual violence.

The arguments and policy recommendations are based on primary research data, the experiences of AWARE’s Women’s Care Centre and Sexual Assault Care Centre supporting vulnerable women, extensive secondary policy research and consultations with stakeholders such as academics, policymakers and other community organisations. The organisations HOME, Disabled People’s Association and Project X contributed respectively to sections on migrant domestic workers, disabled women and violence against sex workers.

“The report takes an expressly inclusive and intersectional approach, recognising that different marginalised women face different overlapping barriers,” said Ms Lim. “By the same token, we urge the government to immediately review all laws for gender neutrality. They should also conduct a thorough review of masculine norms that, when reinforced by such institutions as National Service and the media, place undue pressure on men.”

Besides the aforementioned proposals, AWARE reiterated its recommendations to update Singapore’s 60-year-old Women’s Charter, including changing its name to “Family Charter” to reflect the gender neutrality of its family law and anti-violence provisions. For migrant spouses, AWARE recommended that Long-Term Visit Passes be done away with and all qualifying migrant spouses of citizens be placed on the Long-Term Visit Pass Plus, which offers greater security, subsidies and work eligibility.

On the issue of sexual violence, AWARE suggested allowing all victim-survivors to undergo forensic medical examination, regardless of whether they file a police report. AWARE also suggested mandating that social media platforms remove non-consensually distributed materials within 24 hours after receiving a court order to do so. This would help slow down the spread of such materials online.

“With this national review, the government has set the stage for change on a grand scale,” said Ms Lim. “We hope that they will seriously consider these proposals in their White Paper and accelerate Singapore towards a future free of discrimination, violence and other forms of oppression. We want generations of women to look back at 2021 as a pivotal year for gender in this country.”

Read the “An Omnibus on Gender Equality” report here, and executive summary here.

Pages 28 and 35 of this report were updated on 29 July 2021.

Singapore Alliance for Women in Ageing: Submission for Gender Equality Review, July 2021

The Singapore Alliance for Women in Ageing (SAWA) is an alliance of four organisations (AWARE, Persatuan Pemudi Islam Singapura, Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations and the Tsao Foundation), established in 2018 to raise awareness about the gendered nature of ageing in Singapore.

SAWA has this month submitted a report to the government to coincide with Singapore’s national gender equality review. This report is the product of a community discussion with 38 family caregivers of older persons conducted in May 2021, as well as past research. Through this report, SAWA hopes to give voice to caregivers in the community and ensure that their views are adequately considered in the ongoing review of gender issues.

The policy recommendations made in this report are aimed at addressing working caregivers’ needs and ensuring caregivers’ financial security in their old age. The four primary recommendations are:

  1. Legislating the right to request flexible work arrangements
  2. Converting childcare leave to family care leave
  3. Making CareShield Life premiums gender-neutral
  4. Introducing a caregiver allowance/matched retirement savings

Also included are key concerns about existing policies, and the potential drawbacks of each recommendation raised by community members during the discussion.

Read the full submission from SAWA here.

Position Filled: (Senior) Executive, Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory

We are no longer accepting applicants for this role.

AWARE’s Advocacy, Research and Communications department is looking for a (Senior) Executive to ensure adequate and timely support to people via AWARE’s Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory (WHDA).

Position: Executive or Senior Executive, Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory
Department: Advocacy, Research and Communications
Commitment: Full-time, Monday-Friday
Term: 1-year employment contract
Salary range: SGD$3,370 – 3,750

Job Description

  • Ensure adequate and timely response to people reaching out to WHDA
  • Conduct intake interviews, provide client support and management of cases (case work), including providing and arranging for WCC and SACC services, as well as external referrals (i.e. to TAFEP)
  • Perform regular data management and filing for reporting and analysis
  • Liaise with internal teams on case management procedures, Red System platform usage and changes, updates to referrals processes, training new staff on WHDA’s service
  • Assist in promoting AWARE’s services and mission by organising and publicising events and liaising with external partners and stakeholders
  • Provide support for infographics, illustrations and media queries relating to workplace harassment, workplace sexual harassment and workplace discrimination
  • Draft reports for budget submissions as requested by the fundraising team
  • Provide support on relevant data analysis required by ARC team (i.e. WHDA numbers, statistics, case examples, etc.)

Requirements

  • 2 years of related experience in client-facing or community work
  • Relevant educational qualifications, like social work, counselling, psychology, law, human resources or related field
  • Experience in law or human resources. Understanding of the Employment Act, workers’ rights is advantageous
  • Excellent inter-personal, empathy and communication skills in English (verbal and written)
  • Good analytical skills
  • Excellent presentation skills
  • Proficient with computers, Google Drive and MS office, especially Excel and Word
  • Superb time-management and organisational skills
  • Strong project planning: highly creative, adaptable and a self-starter
  • Ability to work independently to manage projects
  • Competency to maintain positive and effective working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders
  • Experience or interest in supporting or empowering individuals
  • Strong belief in gender equality and the values of AWARE

Read our privacy policy 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.

 

With 191 individuals across seven communities, AWARE co-produces series of policy wishlists spurring policy-makers to reimagine gender equality in Singapore

This post was originally published as a press release on 8 July 2021.

8 July 2021 – To coincide with the government’s landmark 2021 White Paper on improving gender equality, gender-equality group AWARE held in-depth discussions with 191 members of the public about the changes they most want Singapore policy-makers to enact.

This effort, titled “Reimagining Equality”, culminated in a series of policy wishlists launched today by AWARE, touching on everything from sex education to workplace discrimination.

Of different ages, genders, ethnicities, income levels and backgrounds, the 191 participants were solicited via a public application form and attended 29 virtual community discussions held by AWARE between March and May 2021. Each fell into one of the following groups: single parents; migrant spouses; students, parents and teachers who had opinions on sexuality education; individuals who had experienced workplace discrimination, harassment and/or bullying; students at Institutes of Higher Learning who were concerned about campus sexual harassment; and men who were interested in advocating for gender equality. Each discussion was facilitated by an AWARE staff member and a community member.

This made for “an opportunity to collaborate with people of all ages calling for us to do better for our future generations,” said Daryl Yang, who led discussions on sexuality education. “Drawing on participants’ diverse experiences, the discussions allowed us to brainstorm creative and important recommendations, and build consensus across generational and ideological differences on the changes we need to see.” As Mr Yang noted, discussions were frequently “difficult and painful, as participants bravely shared stories of abuse and discrimination”. Yet this “open and rewarding” quality enabled a rich sharing of ideas.

Terence* (not his real name), who took part in a discussion for men, commended Reimagining Equality for “allowing the masses to have a say on topics rarely introduced in public”. Such an endeavour “may indeed change how future generations look at such topics, spearheading an improvement to many facets of Singaporean life”.

“We applaud the government’s ‘Conversations on Women’s Development’ initiative this year,” said AWARE President Margaret Thomas, “and we are glad to complement their work with these additional insights. While many of the points raised during our discussions corroborated the findings of AWARE’s existing research, there were plenty of revelatory moments, the kind that only arise from intimate and in-depth dialogue.”

Here is a summary of the challenges and recommendations brought up by each group:

Single parents in Singapore were concerned about, among other things, their limited housing options (impacted by their finances and their ability to obtain care and control of their children), and needs assessments that underestimate household expenditure. Divorced parents reported having to apply many times over for maintenance to be enforced, whereas unwed parents worried that their “illegitimate” children were not eligible for intestate inheritance. Policy changes suggested by this group included allowing single parents the same housing and grant options as married applicants; establishing a governmental Child Support Agency to manage maintenance payments; abolishing the concept of “illegitimacy” under inheritance law; and making financial aid criteria more inclusive.

Migrant spouses in Singapore were concerned about, among other things, the prospect of separation from their Singaporean children; their inability to co-own homes; and their limited work options (as LTVP/+ holders cannot hold more than one job at any given time, or do app-based work, and those on short-term visit passes cannot work at all). Policy changes suggested by this group included simplifying access to Permanent Residence (e.g. upon the birth of Singaporean child or death of Singaporean spouse), which would help facilitate home ownership; and granting the automatic right to work without Letters of Consent.

Victims of workplace harassment and bullying in Singapore were concerned about, among other things, a general lack of understanding of workplace bullying and options for recourse; the absence of anti-harassment training programmes for employers, employees and interns; TAFEP’s insufficient powers to assist complainants; and the prospect of retaliation from harassers or employers. Policy changes suggested by this group included introducing national legislation on workplace harassment; mandating relevant training for employers and employees; updating TAFEP and TADM websites to clarify the actions they can take in bullying situations; and establishing an external regulatory body to investigate harassment and audit companies’ HR policies and processes.

Victims of workplace discrimination in Singapore were concerned about, among other things, the lack of comprehensive legal protections for employees experiencing discrimination; employees’ lack of awareness of internal reporting processes; and TAFEP’s insufficient enforcement powers and confidentiality measures (leading to fears of retaliation from employers). Policy changes suggested included introducing comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation (and protections for returning mothers); mandating relevant training for employers and employees; and establishing an external regulatory body to investigate discrimination and audit companies’ HR policies and processes.

Students at Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) in Singapore were concerned about, among other things, the lack of standardised protocol for dealing with campus sexual harassment; policies, processes and staff behaviours that were not victim-centric; and the re-traumatising effect of institutions making police reports without victims’ consent. Policy changes suggested by this group included introducing a National Code of Conduct across all IHLs; implementing a clear protocol of support and resources for victims; mandating relevant training for all students and staff at IHLs; and clarifying “reasonable grounds” for exemption from the legal obligation to report cases.

Students, parents and teachers of sexuality education in Singapore were concerned about, among other things, the mainstream curriculum’s default sex-negative approach and inadequate focus on consent and gender-based violence; teachers perpetuating problematic ideas such as victim-blaming; LGBTQ students’ feelings of exclusion during sex ed classes; and overall lack of engagement from students. Policy changes suggested by this group included teaching about consent and gender-based violence; adopting a fact-based instead of scare-mongering approach; and fostering respect for different sexual orientations, gender identities, family structures, etc.

Male advocates for gender equality in Singapore were concerned about, among other things, the reproduction of rigid ideas of masculinity during National Service (NS); stereotypes and stigma produced by media portrayals of gender and diverse sexual orientations; and gendered laws such as those pertaining to paternity leave. Policy changes suggested by this group included reviewing how gender, sex and sexuality issues are taught in schools; mandating Diversity & Inclusion training for NS instructors and other educators to better support people with different gender identities and expressions; codifying the prohibition of negative stereotypes related to gender and sexuality in media; and increasing paternity leave.

“One of the many reasons I participated in AWARE’s community discussions is that I hope my children will grow up in a world where they can be whoever they want to be and love whoever they want to love,” said content writer Janice Leong, who took part in discussions on single parents and sexuality education. “It was very insightful hearing the thoughts of other parents in Singapore—knowledge is power.”

“It was heartening to see male allies stepping up to lend our voice, emphasising that we want to make a better society for all,” said student Didi Amzar, who took part in a discussion on sexual harassment at IHLs. “Notably, the discussion did not occur in a vacuum, as we actively listed possible policy solutions to overcome the challenges within our institutions. I look forward to a society where we can freely live on equal and fair terms.”

“We thank all Reimagining Equality participants for bravely sharing their lived experiences and their far-reaching visions for Singapore’s future,” added AWARE’s Ms Thomas. “These policy wishlists are truly by the community, for the community. We are glad that AWARE could serve as a vessel for these individuals, amplifying their concerns to the national stage.”

AWARE will also submit a comprehensive “omnibus report” of recommendations, based on its own research and advocacy positions, to the government in late July.

Read the policy wishlists by each community:

  1. Single parents
  2. Migrant spouses and transnational couples
  3. Workplace harassment and bullying
  4. Workplace discrimination
  5. Campus sexual harassment at Institutes of Higher Learning
  6. Sexuality education
  7. Male advocates for gender equality