A step forward for the rights of LGBT+ people in Singapore. The city-state will end the criminalization of sex between men, the Prime Minister has announced, Lee Hsien Loong, during a televised address, Sunday August 21.
The authorities have therefore decided to repeal section 377A of the Penal Code, inherited from the colonial era, which criminalizes sexual relations between men in Singapore. It provides for a maximum sentence of two years in prison for sex between men. This law is not applied in practice, but defenders of the rights of LGBT+ people claim that it still deprives these people of their rights.
“I believe it’s the right thing to do. and something most Singaporeans will now accept“, said the head of government. The Prime Minister underlined that homosexual people were now “better accepted” in Singapore, and that the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code would bring the laws of the city-state into line with “the evolution of mentalities”. “I hope this brings some relief to gay Singaporeans,” he added.
As pointed out the bbc (link in English), Lee Hsien Loong, however, said the government will work towards better legal protection of the current definition of marriage in Singapore, as the union of a man and a woman.