We would like to thank the blog Barnyard Chorus for supporting No To Rape, with quite a few posts on the subject of marital immunity for rape. The latest quotes a legal discussion on human rights and argues that full legal recognition of marital rape is necessary for the humane treatment of women:
While disbelief and associated impunity reign, the violated are–systematically and effectively speaking–rendered not fully human legally or socially. When and where this denial is overcome the rights against the extreme and the normal are recognized, the treatment is defined as inhuman and the victims human.
[...] The reason why [opponents of No To Rape] make these arguments is that in their view there is no need for the law to treat the rape of women as the punishable violation of human beings.
We have acknowledged that the abolition of marital immunity alone will not address all the issues raised by marital rape, and the precise criminal justice responses that are appropriate upon conviction should be open for discussion. However, an adequate solution cannot be found unless there is first a complete and honest acknowledgement that marital rape is a wrong, which society – through the law – condemns as criminal.
Many victims of marital rape report an atmosphere of silence and suppression around their experiences, and at our Seminar social worker Benny Bong, President of the Society Against Family Violence, noted that the social denial of the rape and other domestic violence often amounts to further victimisation in and of itself. It is a refusal of the validity and legitimacy of the pain, and the sense of violation, that these women suffer. Little wonder one signatory on our petition has left a message saying that, in the face of the law as it stands, “As a woman myself, I do not feel respected by my country.”
Our sincere thanks to the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development for kindly featuring No To Rape on their website. This is a membership-based regional human rights organisation in Asia. Presently it has 46 member organisations across Asia, with 46 member organisations from a range of Asian countries including Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and more.
We are also grateful for the link from AWARE’s White Ribbon Campaign, a movement of men who pledge to never commit, condone or stay silent about violence against women and girls.
(Campaign Actions are suggestions we make every fortnight for steps you can take – in addition to spreading the No To Rape message online – to help the effort for change. Previous Campaign Actions: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7] and [8].)
You object to marital immunity for rape. You believe women deserve protection from violence, no matter who commits it.
We know this. But for the law to change, we need your MP to know it too.
That’s why our Campaign Action from now to the petition deadline on 30 November is:
Go to your MP’s Meet the People Session. Tell your MP that you believe rape is always violence, and that married women need the full protection of the law.
Tell your MP that more than 3,000 people have signed the No To Rape online petition, and that the number is growing.
Tell them that you have heard and read the stories of women who have experienced marital rape – on Channel News Asia and in Her World – and that the current law is inadequate to protect them.
You can use the leaflet on our Promote page to help you make your points.
If you would like to coordinate your meeting with your MP with another No To Rape supporter, email us with your constituency and preferred dates (if any) in advance. We will put people in touch with one another.
In addition, please do email us afterward and let us know how your meeting went.
Many thanks to the folks at Syinc for mentioning No To Rape on their SEACHANGE Blog. Syinc is an exciting movement working to empower youths to create social change, and it is very kind of them to link to us.
If you could say ‘no’ to something, what would you say?
That’s the question we put to Singaporeans and residents from a wide range of backgrounds and walks of life, and the latest No To Rape film ad, “Let’s Get Heard”, is the result.
You might recognise some familiar faces among those saying ‘no’ to everything from bad breath to censorship and more!
Share the video with your family and friends to encourage them to take a stand. There’s one more thing we can all say no to, and that’s rape.
As our petition drive enters its last month, it becomes more vital than ever that we all get heard. Please help spread the word.
Credits Music: YACHT – “Ring the Bell.” (See here)
Special thanks to David Shiyang Liu, Rae Lyn Lee, Pei Ling, Joanne LRM, and everyone who participated in the film. Views expressed in the video are those of participants and do not necessarily reflect those of No To Rape.
