Women's Nite: Who Wears the Skirt? (May 31)

While the heterosexual world has traditional "rules" about dating, we often
wonder what to do on a date. Who should pay on the first date, and who
should see whom home? For that matter, how should housework be split?

Does being gay let you defy traditional gender roles? Or is the one who
wears the skirt still stuck with the cooking and cleaning?

This Women's Nite, let's talk about our expectations around being with
another woman.

***

*Women's Nite May 2008
Saturday 31st May, 7pm *
Venue (in Singapore) will be disclosed upon registration.

Limited to 30 invites, so please register with your full name, contact
number, the full name/s of your guests, if any, and the type of halal food
or drink you would be contributing to the potluck.

Although Women's Nite is open to women of all orientations, please let us
know if you are straight, or are bringing along straight guests, so that we
can be sensitive to the needs of all women present.

Please send your details to women.snite@gmail.com [women dot snite at gmail
dot com]

Registration closes at midnight 30th May 2008

***

About Women's Nite

Women's Nite provides a safe, neutral and alcohol-free space for lesbians
and bisexual women in Singapore to discuss the issues relevant to their
lives.

The event, held on the last Saturday of every month, was started in December
2003. Over a potluck dinner, we hold discussions on wide ranging topics
like self acceptance, homophobia, relationships and identity. We also invite
special guests to field questions on legal rights and sexual health, and
conduct art and dance therapy nights.

To check out the past months' events, or find out more, please go to
http://women_snite.livejournal.com
To get email updates on each month's event, please visit
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/women_ snite/ to join our mailing list.

As far as possible, we would like to keep this space commercial free. To
advertise events and projects, please email us at
women.snite@gmail.com

Reuters: Singapore attorney warns of rights "fanatics": paper (May 30)

Singapore attorney warns of rights "fanatics": paper
Fri May 30, 2008 10:23pm EDT

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's attorney general warned that the concept of human rights must not be allowed to become a religion for fanatics to achieve political goals such as gay marriage, the Straits Times reported on Saturday.

The newspaper quoted Attorney-General Walter Woon as saying that it would be "hypocrisy" for such activists to decide what is acceptable for the rest of society.

"There is a misconception that Singapore officialdom is against human rights," the pro-government daily quoted Woon as saying at a Singapore Law Society event.

"What we are against is the assumption of some people that when they decide what are human rights, it is a decision for the rest of humanity,"

Last year the Singapore government decided to uphold a law that bans sex between men, saying the idea of advocating a homosexual lifestyle was unacceptable to large parts of its conservative society. In spite of the ban Singapore has a thriving gay scene.

Singapore's constitution guarantees free speech, but speaking in public requires a police permit as do public gatherings of more than four people -- a practice that has been criticized by human right groups.

The small but rich Southeast Asian island has been run by the same party since independence in 1965 and political opposition parties play no big role in public life with 82 out of 84 parliamentary seats held by the ruling People's Action Party.

(Reporting by Jan Dahinten; Editing by David Fox)

Today: Barred last year, back this year (May 29)

Barred last year, back this year

Barely a stir last Friday as Canadian don presented paper on Section
377 at annual legal conference:

Thursday • May 29, 2008

Loh Chee Kong

cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg

TEN months ago, at the height of the polarising debate on whether
homosexual acts should be decriminalised, controversy broke when
Canadian academic Douglas Sanders was barred from giving a public talk
on the topic here — four days before he was due to speak.

Last Friday, Professor Sanders came and went, barely creating a ripple
as he delivered a lecture at the Asian Law Institute's (ASLI) 5th
Annual Conference organised by the National University of Singapore
law faculty. And it was on the very paper that he was scheduled to
present last year.

The ASLI conference, which was held at NUS' Bukit Timah campus,
attracted more than 200 law experts and academics from 14 countries.

Responding to Today's queries, a Ministry of Home Affairs spokesman
explained that NUS, along with the other two public-funded
universities, are exempt from the Public Entertainment and Meetings
Act (Pema).

Said the spokesman: "The Pema licence for the earlier planned public
lecture by Prof Sanders was cancelled because it was clear that the
event was part of the efforts of gay activists to involve a foreigner
in promoting their political agenda in the context of the Penal Code
Review."

In contrast, the ASLI Conference is "a bona fide academic event with
many scholars and speakers ... addressing issues of legal
scholarship", the spokesman added.

:Prof Sanders had last year been also scheduled to take part in a
forum at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies. But the institute
had cancelled it after the police withdrew the licence for his talk at
IndigNation, an annual series of events organised by local gay groups.

Today understands that Prof Sanders' lecture last week on his paper,
"377 and the unnatural afterlife of British colonialism in Asia", drew
about 50 participants. It ran concurrently with other parallel sessions.

According to Prof Tan Cheng Han, the dean of the NUS law school and a
member of ASLI's Board of Governors, the institute "was aware that
Prof Sanders would be presenting a similar paper to the one that he
had wanted to present last year" at both events.

Noting that homosexuality — and Section 377A in particular — was a
topic discussed at more than one session at last year's ASLI
conference in Jakarta, NUS' Prof Tan said the law institute "generally
has an open policy towards academics who wish to present papers at its
annual conference".

Prof Sanders' 39-page paper, which is available online, described
Singapore as "the best example of a jurisdiction with the odd trinity
of criminal prohibition, social disapproval but little actual police
enforcement of the law".

It also asserts that by retaining Section 377A, Singapore politicians
"want to avoid controversial subjects" including adoption, social
recognition and support for homosexuals.

When addressing Parliament last year on why Prof Sander's talk at
IndigNation had been banned, :Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee — the
Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs — had described Prof
Sanders as "an advocate for decriminalising homosexuality".

Assoc Prof Ho had also said the lecture was "contrary to public
interest", and reiterated that foreigners "will not be allowed to
interfere in our domestic political scene, whether in support of the
gay cause or against it".

Yesterday, however, the ministry spokesman said there was "no
objection to Prof Sanders the person or his right to express his views
whether on gay issues or other matters".

Today was unable to reach Prof Sanders for comments. The
:Chulalongkorn University emeritus professor is understood to be in
Russia.

Gay rights activist Alex Au, who met Prof Sanders when he was in town
from last Wednesday to Saturday, felt that the Government "overreacted
last year".

"It's in the nature of academic talks on minority interest issues,
that they do not create any risk to public order," said Mr Au.

While noting the "material difference" between a public lecture and an
academic conference, Tanjong Pagar MP Baey Yam Keng felt it was "just
coincidental" that the timing of Prof Sanders' scheduled talk last
year was "very close to the debate (on the Penal Code amendments) in
Parliament".

Still, Mr Baey added: "No one can be sure what would have been the
public reaction if it had gone ahead. But I thought it could have
actually added to the discussion last year."

EMERGE at FCC (May 29)

Dear friends,

EMERGE is a brand new 10-week long adventure to explore the foundations of the Christian faith in a relaxed, informal and engaging way. We won't be backing away from the difficult questions of the Christian faith and some of the topics that will be explored include:

- Who is Jesus and why do Christians believe in Him?
- What is the role of the Bible and how should I use it?
- How does God guide us?
- How do I experience God in my life?
- What is the role of the Church and how does FCC fit into this?
- How are we really supposed to live out our lives as Christians?

So whether you are brand new in Church, attending once in a while, or have been a Christian in FCC for a long time already, if you want to have a safe space to get a good grip on the foundations of the faith, I invite you to contact me with your email and mobile number to register for the EMERGE series that starts this Thursday 29/5/08 in FCC at 8pm.

Your fellow explorer,

Gary Chan

PS: If you are already attending a cell group in FCC, please discuss this with your cell leader first before registering! This series also does not deal specifically with faith and sexuality issues and if you would like to join a Bible Study series around that, please contact Miak who runs the Living Water series

FCC Service: Speaker Anthony Yeo (May 25)

SUNDAY SERVICE (ENGLISH)
25 May 2008 (Sun) - 10.30am
FCC Main Hall
56 Geylang Lor 23
Level 3, Century Technology Building
All are welcome!
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
Speaker
ANTHONY YEO
Series on the Psalms
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
Worship Leader - GARY CHAN
Keyboards - GREG, NICHOLAS LEOW
Guitars - NATHAN GUO, KELVIN NG
Strings - RAYMOND WONG
Drums - JIMMY TAN
Audio - QING LONG LUO
Video - FOO KEONG YAP
Prayer - DAN LOH
Communion - CYRUS HO
Service Pastor - SUSAN TANG

ST: 3.1% of men who have sex with men found to be HIV-infected in landmark HIV testing project in Singapore (May 23)

3.1% of men who have sex with men found to be HIV-infected in landmark HIV testing project in Singapore

Singapore – May 23, 2008 – 3.1% of men who have sex with men (MSM) were found to be HIV-infected in a landmark project to make HIV testing more accessible to the MSM community. Nine hundred and sixty MSM volunteered for the free and anonymous testing service at MSM frequented venues, of which 30 tested positive for HIV.

This HIV prevalence among MSM is one of the lowest in the region.

The objective of the initiative was to enhance HIV awareness, encourage HIV testing and gauge the acceptability of community based HIV-testing among MSM in Singapore. The project was conducted by AfA at venues and establishments frequented by MSM between December 2007 and February 2008, using the OraQuick test.

The effort was warmly received by people who participated in the outreach. Both members of the community and business owners were quick to praise the initiative, which was titled Take the Test. Take Control.

One participant remarked "Getting an HIV test can be a scary experience, but knowing one's status is really quite a liberating experience." It was his first HIV test, as it was for 27% of those who participated in the project.

"These findings suggest that while MSM are at high-risk for HIV infection, scaled up and targeted AIDS campaigns that include clear messages emphasizing correct & consistent condom use during anal intercourse and regular HIV testing have been effective in keeping the HIV prevalence among Singaporean MSM relatively low," says Mr Daniel Tung, Action for AIDS' MSM programme director.

"However the community must not become complacent, we cannot afford to drop our guard of adopting safer sex practices and specifically 100% condom use for anal intercourse. Complacency has been the case in many other cities that have recently documented alarming increases in HIV prevalence among MSM."

In a post-campaign survey following last year's *Think Again campaign, unprotected anal sex between men was found to have been reduced by between 22-27%compared to the statistics from the Behavioural Surveillance Studies (BSS) conducted by Fridae in 2006.

In the 2006 BSS, 46.9% of MSM surveyed had an HIV test in the preceding 12 months. The proportion of recent HIV testing is a result of community efforts to raise the awareness of the risk of HIV within the MSM community. AfA is aiming for this number to hit 80% by 2011.

To emphasise the message of personal responsibility, AfA, together with gay media company Fridae.com are launching a new campaign – We Can Stop AIDS Now. The campaign focuses on individual empowerment, and shows how HIV transmission can stop today if everyone plays their role. Campaign materials can be found at venues frequented by MSM, or by logging into www.stopaidsnow. info.

Action for AIDS would like to thank the community, business owners and volunteers who participated in this important project, and the Ministry of Health for providing the funding.