Growing Pressure for Same-Sex Rights in Singapore

Around 21,000 people are here at the annual Pink Dot rally... the biggest turnout since it was first held five years ago.

They called for equal rights for the LGBT – or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community... in a country where sex between men is still illegal.

It’s a sea of pink here... with the majority of the crowd dressed in pink clothing and apparel. But some decided to show a bit more creativity. One woman has pink coloured wings attached to the back of her blouse... while another man wears an oversized pink wig. Others have brought along their pet dogs and cats …dressed in the same colour as well.

“This is my second time here and I can see that people are growing up and coming out in society but there are still some people who don’t accept it,” says one man at the event.

“My friend is gay and so I am here to spend time with him and chill out,” says another woman.

Organisers say the event is the biggest yet, says one of the organiser Paerin Choa.

“Five years ago people were afraid to come, right now people are not afraid to come. They happily dress in pink, they call their friends, their parents, so we see a bit of a change in terms of mindsets and attitudes by the straight people as well as the LGBT people in Singapore, and that’s because it is not so taboo anymore.”

The theme for this year’s Pink Dot event is “Home”... to raise public awareness of important topics for the LGBT community, such as discrimination and social stigma.

Sex between men is still a criminal offence in Singapore, with a maximum penalty of two years in jail.

Two gay men tried to challenge the law earlier this year, but their petition was rejected by the Singapore High Court.

Despite this, the country has an active and open gay scene. Some LGBT groups are even conducting Singapore’s first National LGBT Census.

“Five years ago we had 2,500 people show up and last year we had 15,000. So the growth is pretty phenomenal,” says Alan Seah, an LGBT activist and member of the Pink Dot movement.

“When we started out doing Pink Dot we always thought that the size of the dot growing every year actually symbolises society’s acceptance of the LGBT community.”

But the mainstream media often portrays a negative image of them says Paerin Choa.

“LGBT characters that are happy, lead normal lives and are useful in society are not allowed for mainstream media. Gay characters who are suicidal, psychotic, murderous and depressed are all allowed. So that’s the kind of skewered image that LGBT people have in the mainstream media.”

But that didn’t stop Dr Vincent Wijeysingha from coming out as a gay man. He’s the country’s first openly gay politcian and a member of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party.

One day before the Pink Dot event, he wrote on his Facebook page: “Yes, I’m going to Pink Dot, and yes I’m gay.”

“Whether this will affect my political career, I am sure there will be some detractors. But that is the strength of a polity, when you are able to express different views. And as I’ve said for the discourse to gradually widen, the contest of ideas becomes healthier and that means a wider range of opinions become heard in the public space. It can only be good in the long run.”

There’s a growing awareness and support for same-sex rights... but there’s still a long way to go says Dr Wijeysingha.

“People are taking it into their own hands to change society for the better. And the government cannot fail to catch up with the people if they are going to entertain any hope of remaining relevant in the long term.”

Organisers and LGBT supporters are hoping for another record breaking turnout next year...  as well as legal reforms to decriminalise sexual relations between men.

“The more we do this, the more people see that there shouldn’t be a stigma, shouldn’t be a fear.”