Survey removed
At around 11.45am on 23 March 2022, Wake Up Singapore received many messages informing us that people were no longer able to access the REACH survey on Section 377A and LGBT issues. One user reported receiving the following error message when they tried to submit a response.
We’re not sure what is the point of “contacting the person who asked you to fill in this form” is, as we do not have any control over the survey.
When Wake Up Singapore tried accessing the survey page at about noon on 23 March 2022, the survey had already been removed due to “overwhelming response”.
The survey, which sought the views of everyone on Section 377A and other issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community, was up for barely a day. However, within that short period, it had turned into a battleground for a proxy war of sorts between anti-LGBT groups and pro-LGBT groups.
A “Proxy War” by Survey
In our article yesterday (22 March 2022) encouraging people to do the survey, we had issued the following call-to-action:
“Don’t let them discriminate in your name. This is your chance to help shape Government policy on 377A and LGBT+ issues.
The Government said that it intends to chart the best way forward for Section 377A. It is time for the people to chart the best way forward. Let us pave a path towards justice and equality, just as we as a nation have pledged.
Go and do the survey now, and send it to your friends too.”
Go participate in the Government’s anonymous survey on Section 377A and the LGBTQ+ Communityhttps://t.co/PIRMJXXwSo pic.twitter.com/oKzsu6K56K
— Wake Up Singapore (@wakeupsg) March 22, 2022
Some pro-LGBT persons were of the view that we should not have promoted the survey, less it falls into the hands of anti-LGBT groups. This was a proposition which we objected to.
In any event, as we noted in our previous piece, many surveys on such topics are already dominated by vocal conservative groups. The cat is already out of the bag, and the survey is far from ideal, so why not just let your voice be heard.
Flaws in Survey
Although many praised the progressive language of the survey (REACH noted that it was open to everyone regardless of “sexual orientation and/or gender identity“), and the Government’s efforts to seek public opinion on the archaic state of affairs, the survey was not without its flaws.
For starters, there was nothing in place to prevent people from submitting multiple entries to skew the results. Of course, this has to be balanced against the fact that the survey was an anonymous one. Some in the comments section noted that what should matter is quality, not quantity.
Other critics of the survey took issue with the manner in which some options were phrased
https://twitter.com/kixes/status/1506219188326567939
Another Twitter user, @Wei11, expressed concerned over the phrasing of some questions. He was worried that his answers may be misconstrued
Trying to fill this but a bit stumped by the way these questions are being phrased.
Eg. "I feel that the LGBT+ Community is accepted in Singapore."
Is accepted vs should be accepted are two very different things. I'm not sure what they are asking?— wei (@wwei11) March 22, 2022
If the Government is going to seek views on topics such as these, it must expect to receive robust responses. It must put measures in place, whether front-end or back-end, to ensure that as many people as possible get to express their views. Further, it must also make sure that the survey is not skewed by those who abuse it.
https://twitter.com/teo_kai_xiang/status/1506491466490826753
It would be interesting to know the results of the short-lived survey, after filtering the spam out. An MP should file a Parliamentary Question on this at the next sitting of Parliament.
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