A little more than half of the people in Singapore - or 55 per cent - still support Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises consensual sex between adult men.
This is even as one in three Singapore residents is more accepting of same-sex relationships than he was five years ago, a new poll has found.
A total of 750 Singaporean citizens and permanent residents aged 15 to 65 took part in the online survey by Ipsos Public Affairs, an independent market research firm.
The poll was conducted over a period of four days, from end July to early last month, to understand what are today's social attitudes towards same-sex relationships.
When asked about the extent of their support or opposition to Section 377A, 55 per cent indicated they supported it, while 12 per cent said they opposed it.
Sentiment varied according to sex, with men more likely to strongly support the law than women. Those aged 15 to 24 were more likely to oppose the law, while people aged 55 to 65 were more likely to support it.
Those surveyed were also asked to what extent they agreed with the statement: "I believe that Singaporeans should be able to participate in same-sex relationships."
Twenty-eight per cent agreed with the statement, while 38 per cent did not.
A 2014 survey of more than 4,000 Singapore residents conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies also found that Singaporeans are mostly conservative. Read more via The New Paper
‘Unnatural AF’: These comments posted in a petition by those who support Section 377A are really something
When Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam recently told reporters that only a “growing minority” of Singaporeans want the highly controversial Section 377A of Singapore’s Penal Code repealed, it was a little hard to believe. This is 2018 after all — surely there’s enough woke-ness going around to ensure that Singapore is ready to remove an archaic law that criminalizes gay men?
Alas, it appears that love does not win here. Since India officially abolished the same colonial-era ruling, the divisive issue about doing away with Section 377A of the Penal Code has been propelled once again into national discussion, with renewed calls for reform. As well as a renewed call to keep the 157-year-old law intact.
Here’s the score as of this article’s writing. A petition urging the government to abolish Section 377A has garnered over 35,000 signatures. Then, there’s the opposing petition demanding that the legislation — an unenforced law that prohibits any “act of gross indecency” between two male men — remain unchanged. That one has gathered over 97,000 signatures. Whew.
One explanation provided is that the Change.org platform allows people to sign it as many times as they want, and is easy enough for bots to be used. Read more via Coconuts Singapore