Singapore

Singapore has made progress on LGBTIQ issues over the last decade; however, there are still barriers to full LGBTIQ equality. During a speech at the National Day Rally in 2022, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the section of Singapore’s penal code that criminalizes sex between men would be repealed. Following the Prime Minister’s promise, in November 2022, Singapore’s Parliament decriminalized same-sex relations but also passed a constitutional amendment that gave Parliament the power to protect the definition of marriage from legal challenges. However, the changes do not enshrine the definition of marriage in the Constitution, so Parliament, through ordinary legislation, can create a system of same-sex civil unions with a simple majority. Although surveys suggest that a majority of people in Singapore still do not support same-sex marriage, public opinion has become increasingly accepting in recent years. Public rallies in support of LGBTIQ people, including Pink Dot, have attracted tens of thousands of attendants. Trans people can access gender-affirming healthcare and change their legal gender markers based on a system of self-determination.