Rape of males in Singapore

Male-on-male rape is a criminal offence in Singapore. Perpetrators are charged under Section 375 (1A) of the Penal Code. Victims are not charged.

=Not legally acknowledged before 2019=

Prior to 2019, the rape of males was not acknowledged by Singapore criminal law as the offence of rape under Section 375 was strictly defined as the penile penetration of a woman's vagina without her consent. This meant that only a woman could be considered a rape victim.

However, in a groundbreaking move, the Ministries of Home Affairs and Law issued a joint press release on 11 February 2019 announcing that the government would “expand the definition of rape to include both non-consensual penile-anal and penile-oral penetration.”

The expansion of the offence’s definition came as part of the Criminal Law Reform Bill, which introduced amendments to the Singapore Penal Code so that it remained relevant and up-to-date. The Bill was based on reviews conducted by the Penal Code Review Committee (PCRC), which gave recommendations aimed at enhancing protection for vulnerable victims and tackling emerging crime trends, among others.

In instances where a woman forces a man to penetrate her vagina with his body parts, the PCRC noted that it was covered under Section 376(2), as sexual assault by penetration, and excluded the man’s penis.

In both situations, the maximum punishment prescribed was the same, with an imprisonment term of up to 20 years, along with caning or a fine.

However, in instances where a male, aged 16 and above, is forced to penetrate a woman’s vagina, mouth or anus with his penis, the PCRC highlighted that it was likely the case would end up being prosecuted under Section 354 (Outrage of Modesty) instead, where:

“Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage the modesty of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with caning, or with any combination of such punishments.”

In cases where the rapist is female, the PCRC stated that, in principle, “a woman who violates a man’s sexual autonomy by forcing the man to penetrate her vagina, anus, or mouth with his penis, as the case may be, is guilty of sexual assault.”

Furthermore, it did not see why the potential scenario of an adult male being forced to penetrate a woman unwillingly with his penis should not be covered by the Penal Code.

In the case of a male who is raped by another male, the PCRC proposed that the definition of rape also be expanded to include non-consensual penile penetration of the anus.

The PCRC added that the basis for this was because “forced penile-anal penetration, which, like penile penetration of the vagina, carries with it the dangers of forced transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.”

It also highlighted that in jurisdictions that have expanded the scope of rape, no reason was found as to why male or female victims of forced penile penetration should be treated differently.

As such, the PCRC proposed that to cover both instances of rape, Section 376(2) be revised to state the following: “Any person (A) who —

(a) sexually penetrates, with a part of A’s body (other than A’s penis, if a man) or anything else, the vagina or anus, as the case may be, of another person (B);

(b) causes a man (B) to penetrate, with B’s penis, the vagina, anus or mouth, as the case may be, of another person including A; or

(c) causes another person (B), to sexually penetrate, with a part of B’s body (other than B’s penis, if a man) or anything else, the vagina or anus, as the case may be, of any person including A or B,

shall be guilty of an offence if B did not consent to the penetration or if B is under 14 years of age, whether B did or did not consent to the penetration.”

The PCRC also proposed that the title of Section 376 be changed from “Sexual assault by penetration” to “Sexual assault involving penetration”, given that in an instance of a female rapist, the assault would not be by penetration.

The government accepted all the PCRC’s recommendations. Additionally, the press statement highlighted that the government also accepted feedback from the social sector to have non-consensual penile-oral penetration similarly covered.

The amendments and additions to Section 375 were enacted as Act 15 of 2019 and came into effect on 1 January 2020.

=Male rape victims who have come out=

=Counselling=

The LGBT-affirmative counselling organisation, Oogachaga, provides counselling services for victims of male rape.

=See also=
 * Rape of males
 * Section 377A of the Penal Code (Singapore)

=References=
 * Matthias Ang, "Definition of rape to include female perpetrators & male victims under Criminal Law Reform Bill", Mothership, 12 February 2019.

=Acknowledgements=

This article was written by Roy Tan.