A Petition: No To Rape

This petition have been floating around for some time and somehow can't seem to gather much moss like the debates we had with the attempted repeals of Section 377A (or anal sex acts between consenting males). I have signed the petition as a Singaporean and as Christian; it is the right thing to do as women should not be expose to the fear of unpunished domestic violence and God had urged man and wife to treat one another with equal respect.

I will not attempt to rephrase the intention of this petition. It has been clearly and adequately put across by www.notorape.com and reproduced here:

The Penal Code currently provides loopholes to the offence of rape if the perpetrator and victim are married.

Section 375(4), known as the “marital rape exemption”, provides that non-consensual penetration by a man of his wife’s vagina, using his penis (“marital rape”), will not constitute the offence of “rape” except in limited circumstances.

Section 376A(5) provides a “marital rape exemption” whereby this offence is not committed by a man who uses his penis to penetrate the vagina of a girl who is under the age of 16, provided they are married to each other.

Every human being deserves the protection of the law from violence.

We propose the repeal of both Section 375(4) and Section 376A(5) so that the same penalties will be available to a court upon conviction of a perpetrator of marital rape, as with any other kind of rape.

Abolishing these exemptions will make the law consistent with criminalising violence to protect all individuals in Singapore society.

If like me, you agree with the advocators of this movement, please lend your voice by signing the petition. I believe that we can make a positive contribution here.

On a related note, Terence Lee of www.irreligiously.blogspot.com has questioned the Christian community on their involvement in the movement. Specifically, the involvement of certain personalities who have been rather forceful in their attempt to keep 377A. By and large, they have remained rather quiet in this discussion, perhaps not as important and perhaps not as sensational, but I think Terence Lee raised a valid by questioning their silence. He termed it "blatant hypocrisy"; I call it an obession on their part (with gays of course).

In any case, their silence notwithstanding, I hope fellow Christians will at least give the case of the petitioners a read and judge for themselves. It's only with the participation of fellow believers in such social issues that we can shape a better Singapore. The petition ends on 30th Nov 09. To God be the Glory.