WOMEN'S CHARTER (AMENDMENT) BILL

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for Community Development (Mr Abdullah Tarmugi): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the Women's Charter was enacted in 1961. Over the years, the Charter has been amended to address emerging social issues and changing expectations of the public. The last amendments were made in 1980.

Sir, my Ministry undertook the review of the Women's Charter following feedback from the courts in 1993 about inherent limitations of some of its provisions. A wide spread of views, including those from other Ministries, the Committee on the Family, the courts, some women's organisations and professionals, were sought during the review. The Bill before the House today is the outcome of this comprehensive review. Though extensive, the amendments do not affect the spirit of the legislation. Indeed, in our view, they strengthen the intent of the Charter. The proposed amendments touch on nine areas. Let me deal with each of them briefly.

Amendment 1: Marriage within prohibited degrees

Clause 3 seeks to amend section 10(2) to give clarity to the discretionary powers of the Minister to allow marriages between related parties. The amendment clarifies that notwithstanding the kindred or affinity of the parties, the Minister can allow marriage between the two parties if such a marriage would have been permitted by the law, religion, custom or usage applicable to the parties.

Amendment 2: Marriage for persons who have undergone reassignment procedure

Clause 4 of the Bill proposes a new section 11A to:

(1) clarify that a marriage solemnised in Singapore or elsewhere between two persons of the same sex shall be void;

(2) recognise the new sex of a person who has undergone sex reassignment procedure and accept the reassigned sex as stated in a person's identity card as conclusive evidence of his or her sex; and

(3) allow persons who have undergone sex reassignment procedure to marry and to declare past and future marriages of such persons to be valid.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I am aware that this amendment has raised some concerns among some members of the public. The issue is indeed a complex one and touches on moral, cultural and religious values. Sir, permit me to explain the proposed amendments which were made after much discussion and deliberation with several parties.

Sex reassignment procedure has been allowed in Singapore since 1971. A person who has successfully completed a sex reassignment procedure has to change his or her identity card to reflect the new sex and identity. A small group of individuals in Singapore have indeed undergone the procedure and have had their identity cards changed.

In June 1991, things changed for this group of trans-sexuals who had married when the High Court ruled in the case of Lim vs Hiok that the Women's Charter did not permit marriage between two persons of the same biological sex. Until the ruling, the Registry of Marriages had all along accepted the identity card as documentary proof of the identity and sex of a person. Those who had undergone sex reassignment procedure were able to marry using their identity cards which reflected their new sex. Following the 1991 court ruling, the Registry of Marriages stopped allowing the use of identity cards and began to require applicants to bring their birth certificates as evidence of their sex instead. For those who got married before the ruling, the court's decision meant that their marriages are now void. And if they have adopted children, the status of these children is now uncertain.

Sir, I must emphasise that the proposed amendments are not meant to institute a new practice. Rather they are to reinstate what was the position before 1991. The Government's stand is very clear: it is not a move to encourage or promote lesbianism, homosexuality, transvestism or sex reassignment among our people. We do not believe the amendments will result in our people reassigning their sex in droves. The Bill basically seeks a practical and humane approach to address the problems faced by this group of people and the families they have set up. It is to allow these individuals to lead a life according to their new status, as recorded in their identity cards, as we have all along used the NRIC to verify identity. It is practical. It is sensible.

Sex reassignment is a costly, painful and long process. A person has to undergo extensive psychological and physical assessment by psychologists and doctors to assess his or her need for sex reassignment to function better and more comfortably. Only when it is deemed necessary by the professionals is a person allowed to proceed with the sex reassignment procedure.

I wish to reiterate that the amendment will apply only to civil marriages and not to Muslim marriages which are governed by a different set of laws, ie, the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA). Islam prohibits sex reassignment and does not recognise marriages between people who have undergone sex reassignment.

Amendment 3: Protection of family

The next set of amendments deals with protection against family violence. There are existing provisions in the Women's Charter for the protection of spouses and children under sections 68 to 70 of the Charter. Clause 10 proposes the insertion of a new Part VIA entitled "Protection of the Family" comprising new sections 60A to 60D. Clause 13 seeks to repeal the existing sections 68 to 70 as these are incorporated in the new Part VIA.

Sir, the Government takes a very serious view of family violence. While the amendments are intended to give a strong signal that family violence and bullying will not be tolerated, they also provide opportunities for families, victims and perpetrators to heal family relationships which have been hurt.

The new Part VIA extends protection to other family members as well, such as parents, parents-in-law, siblings and any other relative which the court considers to be a family member. It also provides for a wider coverage of the term "family violence" and consequently the categories of behaviour in respect of which protection can be sought. However, the term does not include any force lawfully used in self-defence, or to correct the behaviour of a child below 21 years of age.

The new section 60B allows for a protection order to be made based on the "balance of probabilities" that violence has been or is likely to be committed instead of the criminal burden of proof "beyond reasonable doubt". This will make it easier for a victim to obtain a protection order.

The amendments also empower the court to include other conditions in a protection order such as requiring the perpetrator to go for counselling. Sir, counselling can often help the perpetrators to change his or her behaviour and help families to reconcile. Penalties for breach of a protection order are explicitly spelt out in the proposed amendments. Contravention of a counselling order is punishable as contempt of court, while contravention of the other orders is deemed to be a seizable offence, thus attracting fines or imprisonment or both.

The amendments also allow an application for protection order to be made by another person on behalf of a child below 21 years of age or an incapacitated person.

The new section 60C provides for the issue of an expedited order if the court is satisfied that there is imminent danger of family violence being committed against the applicant.

The new section 60D deals with supplementary provisions and the making of Rules of Court and empowers the court to vary, suspend or revoke an order.

Sir, family violence should not be treated as any other offence. It involves members who are bound by blood or marital ties and who still need to interact with or depend on one another. The amendments allow for a softer approach through counselling. However, where a perpetrator is not likely to be compliant, the new provisions allow for tougher penalties to be imposed on the perpetrator. If necessary and where even tougher measures are deemed necessary, a perpetrator can then be charged under the Criminal Procedure Code.

Sir, besides legislation, a multi-pronged approach is needed to address family violence. Steps are being taken to put in place a network of support for victims and families. The police have worked out new procedures to guide police officers in handling family violence cases. Training is also being conducted to enhance the skills of the police and social workers in the management of such cases. Indeed, Sir, it so happens that a course on the training of social workers starts today which is being funded by my Ministry.

Amendment 4: Maintenance of wife and children and Enforcement of maintenance orders

Sir, clauses 11, 14 to 17 and 21 and 22 seek to enhance the provisions for the maintenance of wife and children and the enforcement of attachment orders to reduce the hardship of spouses and children who are dependent on the maintenance payments. The amendments also extend the definition of "earnings" to include payments received from self-employment. They also expand existing provisions to:

(1) allow a child of any age to receive maintenance from the parent if he is unable to maintain himself, for example, if he is incapacitated;

(2) include additional circumstances which the court should take into consideration when ordering maintenance, ie, age of each party, duration of marriage and contributions made by each party to the welfare of the family; and

(3) empower the court to refer parties for mediation or counselling and to award costs as it deems fit for an application of an attachment of earnings order.

Clause 17 seeks to double the penalty from $1,000 to $2,000 for failure by an employer or defendant to notify changes in employment and earnings after an attachment order has been made.

Amendment 5: Matrimonial assets

Clause 19 seeks to repeal section 106 and to re-enact a new section 106 to provide for a more equitable and just division of matrimonial assets upon the breakdown of a marriage. Under the existing provisions, there is a dichotomy between "sole" and "joint" efforts in the acquisition of matrimonial assets. If a homemaker has made a small financial contribution to the acquisition of the assets, his or her share would be considered under the "joint efforts" head and is constrained by the size of the contribution made by him or her. The homemaking efforts are ignored. However, if the homemaker did not make any contribution to the acquisition of the assets, the homemaking efforts are taken into consideration as his or her claim would be brought under the "sole effort" head. In this instance, the homemaker is better off not making any financial contribution to the acquisition of the assets. The amendments aim to remove this anomaly as a strict interpretation of the provisions could lead to very absurd results.

In addition, Sir, the new section provides for the definition of matrimonial assets and enables the court to take into consideration all the circumstances of the case in the division of matrimonial assets. These include the contributions made by the parties to the welfare and care of the family and the needs of their children.

The amendments also empower the court to make other orders and to give directions which are necessary or expedient to give effect to any order. It also empowers the court to extend, vary, revoke or discharge any order or conditions.

Amendment 6: Order for custody of children

Clause 20 seeks to amend section 119 to empower the court to refer parties in a custody dispute for mediation and counselling. This is to allow parties involved to reach a more amicable decision in the interest of the children who, more often than not, are adversely affected by such disputes.

Amendment 7: Offences against women and girls

Clauses 24 and 25 deal with certain offences against women and girls. Carnal connection offence

Under the current section 140(4), a first offender of an offence of carnal connection can be let off if he is not more than 24 years old and if he can show that he has reasonable cause to believe that the girl was 16 years of age or older. Clause 24 seeks to lower the age allowable for such a defence to 21 years and below for a first offender. In other words, the offender cannot now use that defence if he is more than 21 years old. There is no rationale to set the age at 24 when the age of majority is 21 years old.

Proceedings to be heard in camera

Clause 25 seeks to empower the court to order trials for offences of aggravated outraging of modesty and incest to be heard in camera as is the case now for trials involving rapes and offences against girls below 16 years of age.

Board of Visitors and Discharge Committee

Clauses 26 and 27 seek to amend sections 178 and 179 to:

(a) give flexibility to the Minister to determine the size and composition of the Board of Visitors and the Discharge Committee and to direct the Board to visit any welfare institution which is not established as a place of safety under section 177 of the Women's Charter;

(b) confer certain powers on the Board; and

(c) make it an offence any refusal to admit a member of the Board, the Director of Social Welfare and other authorised officers or any hindrance to the performance of their duties.

Currently, up to 12 members can be appointed by the Minister for the Board and seven for the Discharge Committee. A number of new homes have been established for the reception of children and women and girls. The ability of the Board to extend its functions to these homes will be constrained by the number on its Board. The amendments will allow the Minister to increase the size of these two bodies should there be a need to extend the functions of the two bodies to more homes.

Consequential Amendments

The remaining amendments proposed are either consequential amendments arising from the proposed amendments or technical developments which make reference to these provisions obsolete. For example:

(a) the deletion of the words "Po Leung Kuk Fund" and "register of marriages" in various sections of the Women's Charter as they are obsolete;

(b) removal of the requirement to place a copy of the rules made under the Women's Charter to be transmitted to the President; and

(c) change the means through which notices of marriage are brought to the attention of the public, from posting on the notice board to a computerised multi-media terminal.

To conclude, Sir, the proposed amendments would affect individuals and the well-being of children and families. In proposing the amendments, my Ministry hopes to:

(1) provide greater protection for those who are vulnerable;

(2) help families in crisis work out their difficulties in an amicable way;

(3) ensure that errant husbands take greater responsibility for the care of their dependent children and estranged wives; and

(4) provide a fairer, more equitable and objective treatment of maintenance and matrimonial assets in the event of a family break-up.

I have informed this House during the debate on the Family Violence Bill that I would be prepared to refer this Bill to a Select Committee for deliberation. This position still holds. My Ministry has received mainly positive reactions to the Bill following its First reading. I appreciate that the amendments will have an impact on many people and are therefore of concern to the public. Referring this Bill to a Select Committee will provide an opportunity for those who want to give their views to do so.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.