LGBT rights in Singapore | |
---|---|
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Status | Legal[a] |
Gender identity | Legal[b] |
Military | Yes |
Discrimination protections | Protections from incitement of religiously motivated anti-LGBT harassment and violence[2] |
Family rights | |
Recognition of relationships | No |
Adoption | Limited |
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Singapore have evolved over the decades. Same-sex sexual activity is legal for both males and females; for men it was officially legalised in 2022 after being de facto decriminalised since 2007, and for women it was always legal. Prior to 2022, same-sex sexual activity between males was de jure illegal under the British colonial-era Section 377A of the Penal Code. The law had been de facto unenforced for decades. In February 2022, the Court of Appeal in the Supreme Court reaffirmed that 377A cannot be used to prosecute men for having sex with other men,[3][4][5] and that it is "unenforceable in its entirety".[5] Transgender rights in the country are also progressive in the region, which included Singapore being the first country in Asia to legalise sex reassignment surgery in 1973.
On 21 August 2022, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the Government intended to repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code, effectively ending criminalisation both de facto and de jure.[6][7][8] On 22 August 2022, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam added that the Constitution would be amended to protect Parliament's right to define marriage instead of the judiciary, which is the Supreme Court of Singapore, leaving open the possibility for Parliament to legalise same-sex marriages or civil unions through a simple majority.[9] On 29 November 2022, the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code was officially passed in Parliament.[10]
Same-sex marriages are currently not recognised in the country, including the adoption of children by same-sex couples, although a gay Singaporean man with a male partner in 2018 won a landmark appeal to adopt a child that he had fathered through a surrogate.[11] In 2018, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung reassured the LGBT community that discrimination against the LGBTQ community at work, in housing and education will not be tolerated.[12] Since 2019, protections against anti-gay violence and aggravated discrimination were also put into legislation; Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam stated that "LGBTQ persons, non-LGBTQ persons, we are all equal. We are not any lesser by reason of our sexual orientation."[2][13]
While Singaporean society is generally regarded as conservative, LGBT pride festivals such as Pink Dot have taken place every year since 2009 with increasing attendance amounting to the tens of thousands. In line with worldwide trends,[14] attitudes towards members of the LGBT community among Singaporeans are slowly changing and becoming more socially accepting and tolerant.[15]
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