BlogTV Episode 5: Am I Gay? (Sept 30)

From the BlogTV website

Episode 5: Am I gay?
Catch it on Tuesday, 30 September at 8:30 pm on Channel NewsAsia

When you were 16, perhaps younger, and beginning to understand
yourself better – what happens when you find that unlike your
classmates you are different? You're not attracted to the opposite sex?

A poll was conducted in 2007 and of the 187 secondary school respondents:

* 33% felt that homosexuality was wrong
* More than 35% felt that homosexuals were responsible for passing AIDS
* 42% blamed gay people for paedophilia

This poll raises the issue of whether there is enough frank talk about
homosexuality among younger students. Is the topic of homosexuality
still taboo in schools, and are schools doing enough to educate
students about their sexual orientation? Or is it a case of 'if I
don't talk about it, it ain't there.'

This week BlogTV turns the spotlight onto sex education. Is it enough
to just discuss safe sex? Should we not be discussing all the
different sexualities as well? How educational is our sex education
system anyway? And seriously, should teachers be teaching sex amidst
history, English literature etc?

We ask these questions and more as we attempt to answer the question
that might occur to every adolescent at least once - am I Gay?

With our guests, we look away from excuses and seek answers to see if
our education for youths needs to be revamped to include alternative
perspectives.

You can also catch a repeat of the programme at these following times:
30th September, 11.30pm
1st October, 1.30pm
2nd October, 5.30pm

CNA: Number of new HIV cases hit record high of 422 in 2007 (April 29)

Number of new HIV cases hit record high of 422 in 2007
By Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 April 2008 1839 hrs

SINGAPORE: Latest figures from the Ministry of Health (MOH) showed 422 new cases of HIV infection were detected in Singapore in 2007, the highest in a single year since 1985. MOH added that 93 per cent of the cases were men.

This brings the total number of reported cases as of end-2007 to 3,482. Out of these cases, 1,534 are carriers showing no symptoms, while 804 have AIDS-related illnesses and 1,144 have died.

MOH said sexual transmission remains the main mode of HIV infection resulting in 95 per cent of the new cases. Out of the 422 new cases, 255 were infected during heterosexual sex. Meanwhile, 130 of them caught HIV through homosexual activity, a 38 per cent rise compared to 2006.

One reason for the increase in this group could be due to more screening.

29 per cent of homosexuals had their HIV detected during voluntary screening compared to just 5 per cent of heterosexuals. Action for Aids said this is a result of greater awareness arising from more intensive and targeted campaigns for men who have sex with men.

Meanwhile, infection via intravenous drug use halved from 14 cases in 2006 to seven last year.

One case saw HIV being contracted through blood transfusion overseas and is the first such reported case in the past six years.

57 per cent of all new cases reported in 2007 were Singapore citizens and permanent residents between 30 and 49 years of age. About one-eighth of the cases were between 20 and 29 years of age.

Ten people aged under 20 were diagnosed HIV positive. Of these, one was a baby infected by his mother during pregnancy.

Action for Aids said: "More young persons are having sex and at a younger age. Programmes meant for young people must address all aspects of sexual behaviour, including homosexuality and condom use, otherwise those most at risk will not be helped."

According to the ministry, 53 per cent of the new cases already had late stage HIV infection when they were diagnosed.

Only 13 per cent of new cases were detected through voluntary screening, while most had their HIV status detected while they were undergoing some form of medical care.

In its annual HIV/AIDS update, the health ministry urged those engaging in high-risk sexual behaviour to use condoms properly and go for HIV testing regularly. - CNA/vm

CNA: Special Report: Singapore Parliament

Singapore will not abolish Section 377A of the Penal Code, this was the stand taken in Parliament. The new Penal Code was passed by the House with only NMP Siew Kum Hong recording his dissent. The NMP had petitioned the House on Monday, to repeal the Section on homosexual relationships.

The House also passed on Tuesday 23 October, the Education Endowment Scheme and the Terrorism (Suppression of Bombings)Bill.

Five bills were also introduced in the House, including the Income Tax and CPF Amendment 2 Bills.

CNA: Penal Code to get most comprehensive review (Oct 22)

SINGAPORE: Parliament looks set to pass wide-ranging changes to the Penal Code in the most comprehensive review since 1984.

The laws were refined after consultations with the public and legal sector over a period of two to three years.

The changes are aimed at better protecting the more vulnerable in society and to take into account technological advancements and crime trends.

The Penal Code Amendment Bill was read the second time in Parliament on Monday.

The day's session started with Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong submitting a much-publicised petition to repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code that criminalises sex between men.

Over the past days, activists have called for the abolishment of Section 377A, which they deem as discriminatory.

To facilitate discussion, the House Leader moved to suspend a standing order which requires a petition to be referred to the Public Petitions Committee and its content not discussed until the committee has met.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who is the House Leader, said: "This motion will enable Members to air their views and raise their concerns on the matters raised in the petition during the debate on the second reading of the Penal Code Amendment Bill.

"Matters in the petition can therefore be thoroughly and properly debated and discussed and decided by Parliament."

Presenting his views, Mr Siew said Section 377A is unconstitutional and should be repealed, even though the government has said it will not enforce the law actively. He also spoke against the retention of Section 377A, just because the majority of Singaporeans disapprove of homosexuality.

Part of his argument stemmed from the fact that Section 377 will be abolished to legalise private, consensual anal and oral sex between heterosexual adults.

So why differentiate for adult males? Mr Siew asked.

"It is not harm that results from such acts being performed between adult men, but the moral disgust, that the majority says it feels. But there is a very good reason why the criminal law should not reflect public morality, and that is because doing so can lead to the discriminatory oppression of minorities," he said.

In his speech on amending the Penal Code, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee said that public feedback on Section 377A has been emotional, divided and strongly expressed, with the majority calling for its retention.

Associate Professor Ho said: "Neither side is going to persuade or convince the other of its position. We should live and let live, and let the situation evolve in tandem with the values of our society.

"Whilst homosexuals have a place in society and, in recent years, more social space, repealing Section 377A will be very contentious and may send a wrong signal that the government is encouraging and endorsing the homosexual lifestyle as part of our mainstream way of life."

Moving on to the other amendments to the Penal Code, the law will be tightened to prevent the use of electronic means and media to commit crime.

This includes the sale of obscene objects through the Internet, making statements with the intention of wounding the racial or religious feelings of others or sending SMS messages inciting violence.

Amendments were also introduced to curb sex tourism and child prostitution. Under the new law, it will be an offence to engage in commercial sex with minors under 18 years old in other countries.

Another change is to criminalise sexual activity with persons who has mental disability, where consent has been obtained through inducement, deception or threat.

Eleven MPs spoke on the amendments.

Parliament will continue the debate on Tuesday. - CNA/ir

CNA: Group sets up site urging Singapore to keep gay sex ban

SINGAPORE: In an apparent counter move, a group calling itself "the Majority" has set up a website to collect signatures backing a call for the government to keep the law against gay sex.

The group, in an open letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, asks the government to "do what is right and retain Section 377A for the future of our children and our nation".

Under Section 377A of the Penal Code, it is illegal for men to have sex with one another. While prosecution is rare, those convicted can be jailed up to two years.

The online letter read: "Section 377A is a reflection of the sentiments of the majority of society. Most Singaporeans hold conservative family values and do not accept homosexuality as the norm.

"Repealing Section 377A is a vehicle to force homosexuality on a conservative population that is not ready for homosexuality."

Repealing the law, the letter said, could lead to the redefinition of same-sex marriage and the trend of adoption by same-sex parents.

The website, which went live yesterday at about 12.30pm, seems to be a response to an ongoing public online campaign calling for Section 377A to be repealed — even sporting a similar website design.

The pro-repeal website is urging people to sign two documents, one an open letter to the Prime Minister and the second a petition — which closes today — to be submitted to Parliament on Monday by Nominated Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong.

In the latest Penal Code review, which was finished last month, the government decided to uphold the status quo on this issue. The Ministry of Home Affairs had said that Singapore was generally a conservative society and "we should let the situation evolve".

As of 10.45pm yesterday, the website in support of Section 377A had gathered 118 signatures, most of which were accompanied by comments. Wrote a petitioner who signed off as "Bo Bo": "We should never submit to what the rest of the world finds trendy and acceptable."

Wrote Sammy, another petitioner: "It is not right to alter the Section 377A which (sic) majority stands for traditional family values which built what Singapore is today."

Mr Martin Tan, 30, who organised this latest online show of support for Section 377A, told TODAY the website allowed the "silent majority" to have its say.

"What the gay community does in private is their private space," said Mr Tan, an executive director of a not-for-profit organisation. "We just do not want our country's legislation to change just for a small minority who are vocal."

The pro-Section 377A group, said Mr Tan, was started by a small group of four "concerned individuals" who forwarded the link to friends. The open letter, he added, will remain on the website and not be submitted to the government.

When contacted, organisers of the online letter and the petition against Section 377A declined to comment on the new website. But they did say the petition to Parliament had garnered 2,519 signatures so far.

Gay rights activist Alex Au saw the new website as Singaporeans exercising free speech. But as for the group calling itself "the Majority", he said the matter was not a "numbers game" but an issue of "fairness and equality".

Saying the latest website reflected "healthy" debate, Dr Gillian Koh, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, said the scene should not be "monopolised" by those who want the law repealed.

For those who want it retained, she added, "it's a way to signal to other Singaporeans that a bunch of them care about this issue too".

However, Dr Koh also believed that despite several surveys showing that most Singaporeans feel homosexuality should not be made legal, most would choose to stay out of discussion — remaining as "spectators" only.

"What will happen is that people from the religious backgrounds, those with clear vested interests, will speak up," said Dr Koh.

CNA: PM Lee fielded questions on gays, foreign talent at NUS forum

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called on the younger generation to take advantage of Asia's growth prospects, especially Singapore's, and to seize the opportunities ahead.

Mr Lee made the point during an hour-long dialogue with university students at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum on Friday night.

The dialogue also touched on foreign talent and gays in Singapore.

Singapore has moved from third-world to first-world status within the space of one generation.

And this has led to the country attracting a lot of foreign talent.

But, is Singapore becoming a place for the wealthy? asked one law undergraduate asked during the dialogue.

"Singapore seems to be built not for us but for foreigners. Sincerely, I am afraid that as a middle income person, I am not able to make that jump in social, economic class. My question is this, is this land, Singapore, a place for the rich?" asked the student.

Mr Lee replied that Singapore cannot be a place for the rich, because if that was the case, the government would lose the elections.

"Singapore has to be a place where the majority of Singaporeans, a vast majority of Singaporeans, will enjoy a high quality of life and be able to have jobs where you can earn well and do well for yourself," he said.

"You may not be able to do as well as the top most successful banker, lawyer or property developer. But you do well for yourself, your career. You have good schools for your children, good healthcare for your parents, good leisure for your family, good opportunities for your future, that's for everybody," Mr Lee added.

"To have a society where everybody is equal, that's a recipe for poverty, it doesn't work. There will be inequalities in society but we must make sure that the majority of people have a good standard of living and improving standards from year to year," he said.

Another student wondered if Singapore was becoming less open, especially after recent news that the law on Section 377A, which criminalises gay sex, will not be changed.

PM Lee said: "It's a very divisive issue, our view or my view is that gayness is mostly something in-born; some people are like that and some people are not. How they live their own lives is really for them to decide, it's a personal matter.

"But the tone of the society, the public, and society as a whole, should be really set by the heterosexuals and that's the way many Singaporeans feel.

"Gay people exist. We respect them, and they have a place in our society. But (for) Section 377A, to change that, will be a very divisive argument. We will not reach consensus however much we discuss it.

"The views are passionately held on both sides. The more you discuss it, the angrier they become. The subject will not go away.

"Our view, as a government is, we will go with society. We will not push forward as society's views shift. We just follow along. As of today, my judgement is: the society is comfortable with our position. Leave the clause (alone). What people do in private is their own business; in public, certain norms apply."

Nearly 800 local and foreign students studying at the National University of Singapore (NUS) attended the annual dialogue. - CNA/ir

CNA: Foreigners will not be allowed to interfere in Singapore's domestic affairs (Sept 18)

SINGAPORE : Foreigners will not be allowed to interfere in Singapore's domestic political scene and this includes support for or against the gay cause.

The Home Affairs Ministry reiterated this in Parliament on Tuesday, when it explained why it revoked an approved licence for gay activist Professor Douglas Sanders to speak at a public lecture in Singapore on 7 August.

Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong had voiced concerns that the Police may not have fully deliberated the circumstances before they granted the licence the first time around.

Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee explained that even after granting licences for public entertainment, the Police would continue to monitor developments.

And if circumstances warrant it, they would cancel the public entertainment licence if necessary, for public safety or public interest reasons.

It was in this context that the approval given for Professor Sanders was subsequently revoked, when information obtained later made it clear that the talk was part of gay activists' efforts to use a foreigner to promote their political agenda.

Associate Professor Ho said, "The context is important. It's not that foreigners cannot make their comments or views known on Singapore policies. No, in fact they all do! But it's quite different if local activists, in the context of a situation in Singapore where we know that there's an ongoing debate for some time already on a topic which is divisive, a topic which has caused two sides in particular to expound different points of views, whether we want to invite a foreigner to come here to speak to a Singapore audience.

"And from what we know, Professor Sanders is a known activist for the human rights of gays and lesbians. We can his hear views or read it online. But it's quite different to invite him here to speak to a Singapore audience at this time."

The Senior Minister of State also confirmed there has not been a similar cancellation of a licence granted for talks by foreign speakers in the past five years. - CNA/ms

CNA: NGOs must cooperate with health authorities in battle against HIV

NGOs must cooperate with health authorities in battle against HIV
Channel NewsAsia - Monday, August 13

It is winning the battle against HIV. The Australian state of New South Wales has seen the number of HIV cases reported each year generally dropping over the past decade.

And now Singapore knows why, after its first study trip of this kind.

Close cooperation is needed between the Government and non-governmental organisations (NGO), Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Information, Communications and the Arts), told TODAY after a trip to Sydney last month.

Easier said than done, though.

A tricky balance needs to be struck when reaching out to the group that is a particularly significant contributor to HIV statistics in developed countries such as Australia and Singapore: Men who have sex with men (MSMs).

Relating the invaluable lessons learnt in Sydney, Dr Balaji said: The health authorities supported the NGOs in the community, and in return the NGOs were sensitive to the conservative majority.

This cooperation between NGOs and the health authorities reach out to the MSMs, but at the same time, don't upset the conservative majority is the key to their success.

In Singapore, where the numbers are going up relentlessly, 26 per cent of the record 357 new HIV cases reported last year were contracted through homosexual sex.

Reducing these numbers will require the Government and NGOs working with MSMs to get over some bumps together at a national level.

According to Mr Stuart Koe, CEO of gay media company Fridae.com, the left hand is not talking to the right hand yet.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) wants to do health prevention through safe sex, but the Media Development Authority says that anything gay is not allowed,� he said. It's a conundrum we're in.

For example, targeted messages that can reach the gay community through gay magazines are not feasible because such publications are not allowed.

Currently, safe sex messages are displayed in premises like gay bars and saunas, which have limited reach.

According to Mr Bryan Choong, the MSM HIV coordinator for Oogachaga, a support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals, NGOs and the Government also need to get past Section 377A of the Penal Code.

He said, I think there is a lot of trust building that is needed between MSM-related NGOs and the Government in Singapore. As long as there is no decriminalising, that trust will be eroded.

Mr Choong thinks the number of MSM HIV cases are under-reported, and cited a 60 per cent infection rate as more believable.

Here, the under-reporting stems from late HIV notifications, that is, patients who delay seeking treatment here until required.

Dr Balaji, who had previously told TODAY that almost all HIV cases are captured in the system eventually once they seek treatment has noted the stigmatisation of those who are diagnosed with HIV.

He stressed the need to tackle HIV as a health issue. Whatever (the NSW) authorities wanted to do, they didn't politicize or extend the debate out of healthcare.

So successful was NSW's anti-HIV efforts that NGOs managed to get up to 80 per cent of MSMs to get tested annually.

Other issues in Singapore include the issue of anti-retroviral medication being unsubsidised.

While HIV patients can buy cheaper generic versions overseas, it may be harder for them to stick to the medication regime, thus strengthening the resistance of the viral strain, critics argue.

Cooperation between the Singapore Government and NGOs is slowly strengthening, though.

The trip to Sydney included representatives from Action for Aids, Fridae.com and Oogachaga alongside MOH's senior director for operations Koh Peng Keng and deputy director of communicable diseases Dr Jeffery Cutter.

Just before the trip, an MOH survey found one in 350 anonymous hospital blood samples to be HIV-positive, and since then Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan has said he is seriously considering opt-out HIV screening for males admitted to hospital.

In response to TODAY�s queries about how the latest information from NSW would be adapted to the local environment, the MOH said: �We will be looking into strengthening our local NGOs in terms of resources and will also seek ways to work more closely together in the design, delivery and monitoring and evaluation of HIV prevention programmes.

We will also look into how we can better draw upon our local universities to conduct HIV-related research.

CNA: Analysis: The gay debate and the breakthrough we need

Analysis: The gay debate and the breakthrough we need

No amount of print or pressure, or even persuasion, is going to change the Government’s stand on what is being described by some as an archaic and discriminatory law: A law that makes overt homosexuality a crime in Singapore. That is the only black-and-white certainty in the on-going debate on gays. The rest, as they say, is all grey. So why bother even talking about it, asked a friend exasperated with the glacial pace in the politics of change here. Over lunch, we tried to jog our collective memories on the number of occasions when the Government introduced a new law or changed a stand because of overt influence from the outside. Two stick out like sore thumbs: Former Nominated Member of Parliament Walter Woon’s push in 1995 for a law to force children to pay for their parents’ maintenance — the only Act passed by Parliament since 1965 not initiated by the Government — and the official embrace in 2001 of a group of nature lovers who wanted to save Chek Jawa from reclamation.

There have been instances of Government reversal (such as on the graduate mothers policy) and tweaking (to allow the restricted viewing of certain movies). But these have all originated from within, with no overt pressure or persuasion from without. The Jeremys of this world, as quoted in TODAY’s weekend report, need to know that this is a government that guards jealously its self-imposed change-from-within mandate. For every Jeremy and partner who want to pack up and go because of the legal discrimination against gays here, there is a Dennis and partner, who swear by Singapore’s enlightened attitude — covert though it may be — towards gay couples like them. I met Dennis, his partner and two other gays at a 31-year-old lady’s birthday a month ago. They led me into a world of highly-intelligent, highly-articulate and highly-successful people.

They have an opinion – a penetrating and alternative one, mind you — on nearly everything that is happening in Singapore and around the world. That is definitely refreshing in a place where debate and discussion, even in a dinner setting, is lacking. Even more refreshing was to see how the four gays took care of the two straight women at the table. They fussed over the women, talking about the latest fashion trends and bitching about nearly everything and everybody under the sun. The dinner ended with one of the women whispering into her husband’s ear: “They are God’s gift to women!” I am sure many of the 62.3 per cent of the heartlanders who said, in a TODAY survey, that they are against legalising homosexuality would have a different view if they got to mingle with these people more often. That is what happened with Britain’s Ministry of Defence which allowed gays to serve in the armed forces.

Today, seven years later, the ministry’s verdict: None of its fears of harassment, discord, blackmail and bullying have come to hot news newscomment pass, according to an International Herald Tribune report. If it can happen in a macho and tightly-regulated environment like the armed forces, then Singapore society in general should pose no great barrier. Singapore needs gays, not just because of the pink dollar and the economic value they bring, but also because they add a colourful and intellectual vibrancy to our city. With the law and the politics on gays unlikely to change for sometime, the next best thing is for us all to get to know them better.

They have the same emotions we have. A teacher friend once told me, misty- eyed and all, about the pain he suffered after breaking up with his partner. Another, a doctor, spoke of how he is consumed by guilt every time his parents ask him why he is not getting married. Yes, gays are normal people and they should be treated normally. That is the breakthrough we need to achieve in this gay debate.