Singapore will repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday (Aug 21).
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced this during his National Day Rally speech on Sunday (Aug 21).
“Most Singaporeans would like to keep our society like this,” said Mr Lee. “This is the Government’s position, too.”
“They are our fellow Singaporeans. They are our colleagues, our friends, our family members. They too want to live their own lives, participate in our community, and contribute fully to Singapore”, PM Lee said in his speech.
Although he acknowledged that most Singaporeans would like to retain society as it is, he stated the government would continue to support and emphasise the value of marriage between a man and a woman through national policy.
Explaining the rationale for repeal, he noted that there is a significant risk of law being struck down by judges in future legal challenges, and it would be unwise to ignore this and do nothing.
Societal attitudes towards gay people have also “shifted appreciably” and it is timely to consider again whether sex between men in private should be a criminal offence, he added.”
We need to find the right way to reconcile and accommodate both the traditional mores of our society, and the aspiration of gay Singaporeans to be respected and accepted,” he said.
He acknowledged that Singaporeans still have differing views on whether homosexuality is right or wrong, but said most people accept that a person’s sexual orientation and behaviour is a private and personal matter, and that sex between men should not be a criminal offence.
“I believe (repeal) is the right thing to do, and something that most Singaporeans will now accept. This will bring the law into line with current social mores, and I hope, provide some relief to gay Singaporeans.”
It comes after years of contentious debates and legal challenges from various parties who either argue for and against the law that originated from the British colonial era.
“We need to find the right way to reconcile and accommodate both the traditional mores of our society and the aspiration of gay Singaporeans to be respected and accepted,” PM Lee added.
Mr Lee pointed out that Section 377A was originally introduced in the 1930s by the British colonial government and it reflected “moral attitudes and social norms that prevailed back then”.
In 2007, Parliament amended the Penal Code but left S377A unchanged.
S377A, which refers to sexual acts between men but not women and specifies the punishment for violation, reads, “Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years.”
REASONS FOR REPEALING SECTION 377A
In the 15 years since then, PM Lee noted that “attitudes have shifted appreciably”.
“While we remain a broadly conservative society, gay people are now better accepted in Singapore, especially among younger Singaporeans,” Mr Lee said.
“It is timely to ask ourselves again the fundamental question: Should sex between men in private be a criminal offence?”
Mr Lee said that most people accept that a person’s sexual orientation and behaviour is a private and personal matter, and that sex between men should not be a criminal offence.
“Even among those who want to retain Section 377A, most do not want to see it being actively enforced and criminal penalties applied,” he added.
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