JOhn,

Equal application of laws matters. When adult men are legally allowed to engage in sexual activity with girls as young as 12, violence is sanctioned within the law itself. It’s a long way from protecting women’s and girls’ rights.

But it’s perfectly legal in Singapore.

Unprotected due to child marriage

Singapore’s Constitution states that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law, and according to the Penal Code, a man who has sex with a girl under the age of 16 would normally be deemed guilty of sexual penetration of a minor, regardless of her apparent agreement. 

Despite this, Article 375 and 376A of Singapore’s Penal Code provide marital immunity for sexual activity with minors under the age of 16, who are said to “consent”. These provisions encourage child marriage and assume the children, mostly girls, are willingly consenting to sexual activity and not coerced merely because they are married to the offender.

When laws make exceptions to the age of consent on the basis of a marital relationship, they perpetuate or even promote child marriage, as well as intimate partner violence against women and girls, because there is little to deter perpetrators and inadequate recourse for victims, leaving women and girls nowhere to turn. Call on President President Halimah Yacob to turn words into deeds, and protect women and girls from violence. Take action today.

In Solidarity 

Bryna Subherwal

Advocacy Campaign Manager