Country Overview
Singapore
At a glance
Same-sex Relations for Men Legal Throughout the Country?
Same-sex Relations for Women Legal Throughout the Country?
Legal Gender Recognition Possible?
LGBTI Orgs Able to Register?
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In 2022, Singapore decriminalized consensual same-sex relations between men by repealing Section 377A of the Penal Code. This repeal took effect in January 2023. However, the government simultaneously amended the Constitution to codify the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, effectively barring legal recognition of same-sex marriages. Same-sex couples also face other challenges in forming families, including restrictions on adoption rights.
Transgender individuals in Singapore can legally change their gender markers on the condition of undergoing gender-affirming surgery. In 1996, Parliament passed a bill clarifying that individuals who had undergone gender-affirming surgery would be allowed to marry someone of a different sex.
Trans youth can access gender-affirming hormone therapy with both parents' consent, provided they are over 16 through private health care or over 18 through public health care. However, access to HRT for trans youth under 21 is subject to much stricter scrutiny, particularly in light of the global discourse surrounding medical transitioning for trans youth. They face more extensive evaluation than trans adults, and in some cases, individuals have been denied access to gender-affirming hormone therapy despite having consent from both parents.
While there are protections against incitement to violence, comprehensive anti-discrimination laws specifically safeguarding LGBTIQ individuals are not in place. In 2018, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung stated that discrimination in employment, housing, and education would not be tolerated. However, LGBTIQ topics are censored in the media and education by the Ministry of Communications and Information, as well as the Infocomm Media Development Authority. LGBTIQ activists in Singapore also face gendered threats online due to their activism, as well as government surveillance, leading to specific mental health stressors.
In 2021, the Singapore Psychological Society (SPS) condemned “conversion therapy” and endorsed affirmative treatment for LGBTQ clients.
*Outright research indicates that the bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected in this country.
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