K Shanmugam on Section 377A of the Penal Code

In an interview with BBC’s Hardtalk, the Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam describes Section 377A as an “old piece of law which makes gay sex amongst males an offense”.

He reiterated the Government’s position that people engaging in gay sex will not be prosecuted. The Minister also referred to laws that protect the LGBTQ+ community, and stated that the Government has made it clear that “LGBTQ+ individuals are entitled to live peacefully without being attacked or threatened”.

“A messy compromise”

The Minister referred to the current state of affairs in respect of Section 377A, where it is not enforced but still kept on the books, as a “messy compromise”.

Why are we taking this approach? Because a significant proportion of our population, the middle ground as it were, don’t want that law repealed. Attitudes are shifting somewhat, but still, governments cannot, the Singapore government cannot ignore those views. So, we have arrived at this sort of messy compromise, the last 15 years and we have taken this path because these issues are difficult. They are not easily settled.

Relooking our laws

The Minister said that the Singapore Government will be relooking its laws, and observed that “laws have to change and keep pace with the times.”

He also revealed that the Government is in “deep consultation” with stakeholders, including the LGBTQ+ community. Through these consultations, the Government would try to arrive at a landing.

Despite the BBC host’s best efforts, the Minister did not reveal any further details.

And you know, in a system of Cabinet responsibility, what we are going to do can only be announced once a decision is reached. I’m in no position to answer that question with finality at this point.

On the IPSOS survey

A recent IPSOS survey suggested that only a minority of Singaporeans support Section 377A of the Penal Code. You may read more about the survey in this previous article.

The study found that both younger and older Singaporeans reported a “softening in their stance”:-

•  45% of all respondents in the 2022 Ipsos study say they are more accepting of
  same-sex relationships than they were three years ago.
• Among young adults aged 18-29, 67% indicate greater acceptance now.
• 29% of respondents aged 50 years old and above acknowledge that they are more
  accepting of same-sex relationships than they were three years ago.

In the 2018 IPSOS study, 55% of Respondents were supportive of retaining Section 377A of the Penal Code. 5 years on, this number has plummeted by more than 10% to 44%. In other words, only a minority of Singaporeans support the retention of Section 377A of the Penal Code.

The Minister had some reservations on IPSOS’ findings as he was of the view that, although attitudes were shifting, he was “not quite sure they are shifting as much as what IPSOS has said.” He noted  that the IPSOS survey was an outlier in the context of other surveys.

In his view, a significant proportion of Singapore’s population don’t want that law repealed.

The Full Transcript

The transcript of the portions of the interview on Section 377A from MHA’s website is reproduced below for easy reference:-

Stephen Sackur: Listen, so that’s your frame for that particular aspect of your social justification for it. Let’s move on now. Now, let’s move on from drugs. Another aspect of your social policy, and that is the fact that in Singapore, homosexuality is still defined as a criminal act. Now that’s not saving lives. So, what on earth is the justification for that?

Minister: The position in Singapore is that people engaging in gay sex will not be prosecuted. Even though there is this old piece of law which makes gay sex amongst males an offense, the Attorney General has confirmed their position, and the Supreme Court has said that the government’s position has legal force.

Why are we taking this approach? Because a significant proportion of our population, the middle ground as it were, don’t want that law repealed. Attitudes are shifting somewhat, but still, governments cannot, the Singapore government cannot ignore those views. So, we have arrived at this sort of messy compromise, the last 15 years and we have taken this path because these issues are difficult. They are not easily settled. And we have made clear, LGBTQ+ individuals are entitled to live peacefully without being attacked or threatened. We have in fact laws that protect the community.

Stephen Sackur: What is the message sent? What is the message sent to gay men in Singapore that you are not prepared to remove that section 377A of your criminal code, which quite explicitly says that gay sex between men is illegal? That simply encourages, does it not, a culture of shame and homophobia?

Minister: As I said, you know, this is a compromise that we have arrived at, because of where our society is. And if you believe in a democracy, you’ve got to take into account where your main ground is. And let’s face it, it’s not as if others have solved the issue. A Supreme Court judge from the United States suggested a few days ago, that court decisions on legality of gay sex and same sex marriage may have to be reconsidered. But our approach, to deal with these issues in Parliament, and I’ve said earlier this year that we are relooking our laws, and our laws have to change and keep pace with the times. And in a Singaporean way, we are engaging in a wide set of consultations to try and arrive at some sort of landing.

Stephen Sackur: Minister, I’m listening very carefully to your words. They’re very interesting. And if I say to you, say you know public mood and public opinion matters, I say to you that one of the leading polling agencies IPSOS in Singapore has found “a steady shift in societal attitudes led by younger adult Singaporeans, who are more ready to see the country now properly embrace same sex relationships”. So, if that’s the reality, are you saying to me that we can expect in the near future, your government, to actually strike off Section 377A and make it clear to gay men in Singapore that they can be open about their sexuality with no fear that anybody is going to regard them as criminal?

Minister: There are two points. First of all, the IPSOS survey seems to us a little bit of an outlier in the context of other surveys, internal and public, that we have. At the same time, I did say to you that attitudes are shifting, but I’m not quite sure they are shifting as much as what IPSOS has said.

The second point is, I said that we are in deep consultations with stakeholders, including LGBTQ+ community, as well as others. And you know, in a system of Cabinet responsibility, what we are going to do can only be announced once a decision is reached. I’m in no position to answer that question with finality at this point.

Prior Engagement with the LGBTQ+ Community

The Minister has engaged with the LGBTQ+ Community since at least 2013.

~ ongoing engagement ~ https://t.co/NQwBj1v25w pic.twitter.com/Bhqlju5Qj6

— 🍍 __ 🙀 (@sharanvkaur) June 18, 2022

In 2020, Sayoni, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, gave the Minister an “A’ grade for his position on LGBTQ+ issues.

Minister Shanmugam visited the T Project shelter, the first and only social service for transgender persons in Singapore, in October 2019.

Some of the Minister’s views on LGBTQ+ issues have been documented in this article by the LGBTQ+ Encyclopedia.

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