Section 377A of the Penal Code no relation Lee Hsien Loong
Human rights
Capital punishment is a legal and enforced penalty in Singapore. The country is one of four in the developed world to retain the death penalty, along with the United States, Japan and Taiwan. Its use against drug trafficking has been a source of contention with various non-governmental organisations, regarded by some as a victimless crime. The government has responded that it has "no doubts" that it is the right policy and that there is "clear evidence" of serious deterrence, and that the law should be looked at upon in the context of "saving lives". Amnesty International has said that some legal provisions of the Singapore system for the death penalty conflict with "the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty". The government has disputed Amnesty's claims, stating that their "position on abolition of the death penalty is by no means uncontested internationally" and that the report contains "grave errors of facts and misrepresentations".From 1938 to 2022, sexual relations between men were technically illegal under Section 377A of the Penal Code, first introduced during British colonial rule. During the last few decades, the law was unenforced and pressure to repeal this law increased as homosexuality became more understood. Meanwhile, sexual relations between women had always been legal. In 2022, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore would scrap 377A for good, effectively decriminalizing homosexual behavior. Nevertheless, he added that the repeal will not affect the recognition of "traditional familial and societal norms", including how marriage is defined—putting the legalisation of same-sex marriage on the back-burner at least for now, although the possibility of civil unions was not officially ruled out. He added this was a compromise between the conservative (and often religious) and progressive elements of Singaporean society to prevent fracturing it.Pink Dot SG, an event held in support of the LGBT community, has drawn thousands of people annually since 2009 with increasing attendance. According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies in 2019, Singaporean society has become more liberal on LGBT rights. In the survey, more than 20% of people said that sexual relations between adults of the same sex were not wrong at all or not wrong most of the time, up from 10% in 2013. The survey found that 27% felt the same way about same-sex marriage (an increase from 15% in 2013) and 30% did so about same-sex couples adopting a child (an increase from 24% in 2013). In 2021, 6 Singaporeans protested for improved trans protections in the educational system outside the Ministry of Education headquarters at Buona Vista.Pimps often traffic women from neighbouring countries such as China, Malaysia and Vietnam at their brothels as well as rented apartments and hostels for higher profit margins when they get a cut from customers. In response, amendments were made to the Women's Charter by the government in 2019 to legislate more serious punishments for traffickers, including imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of S$100,000.Abortion has been legal in Singapore since 1969, and it is available on request.
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