Singapore activists claim students at top universities get off lightly in cases of violence against women

National University of Singapore (NUS) student Yin Zi Qin was jailed for just 12 days in July after trying to strangle his ex-girlfriend

The Aim for Zero campaign and women’s rights group Aware believe the academic potential of male perpetrators is prioritised over victims of sex crimes

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A woman walks alone at dusk in Singapore. Activists say sexual violence and harassment is not taken seriously enough in the country. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:30pm, 24 Aug 2020Updated: 6:34pm, 24 Aug 2020

Sexual harassment and assaults against women are not being taken seriously enough in Singapore, activists warn, after students at elite universities were given punishments criticised as too lenient for their crimes.

In the most recent incident, a 23-year-old spent just 12 days behind bars after he tried to strangle his ex-girlfriend during a vicious assault.

The city state is known for its tough approach to law and order, with vandalism punishable by caning, while drug trafficking and murder carry the death penalty. But campaigners say crimes against women have long been minimised – marital rape was only criminalised this year.

“The justice system is very harsh on people who vandalise state-owned property. But you want to threaten and violate a woman’s life? Oh yeah, sure. It’s not as serious, is the message [authorities] are giving,” said Pamela Ng, a spokeswoman for the Aim For Zero campaign against sexual violence.

There are also concerns the academic potential of male perpetrators is being prioritised over the actual effect of sex crimes on women.

This echoes criticisms of incidents at prestigious schools in the US, including the six-month imprisonment of Brock Turner for three counts of sexual assault, where a judge feared a longer sentence would severely “impact” the Stanford University swimmer.