Hate speech affects LGBT people, too
I refer to the report, "Govt must intervene early before hate speech disrupts racial, religious harmony in S’pore: Shanmugam" (April 1).
While I agree with Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam that we must prevent hate speech so that no group in our society is discriminated or oppressed, more should be done to protect other vulnerable communities in Singapore.
In addition to hate speech on the basis of race or religion, our Government should take a firmer approach against hate speech that targets groups based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
It is troubling that hate speech against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has proliferated in Singapore.
As Mr Shanmugam observed, hate speech dehumanises marginalised groups, which enables individuals to justify violence against them.
In 2017, a Singaporean man was fined after he threatened to "open fire" on the LGBT community. He had left comments on the Facebook page of We Are Against Pink Dot In Singapore, in response to a post about multinational corporations supporting the Pink Dot rally.
Over the past week, some anti-LGBT groups here have cheered Brunei's plans to introduce death by stoning as punishment for adultery and consensual same-sex intimacy. Some even called for Singapore to introduce similar punishments.
Such hate speech directly affects LGBT people in our society. In a survey done by LGBT counselling organisation Oogachaga, it was found that three out of five LGBT individuals in Singapore have experienced abuse or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Even though some have argued that they should be entitled to speak their mind against LGBT people on the basis of freedom of expression, Mr Shanmugam has highlighted that there is a limit to free speech when it can potentially cause harm to others.
Our political leaders have said that the LGBT community is a part of Singapore society. We should accordingly take a stronger position against any hate speech that denigrates and dehumanises LGBT people.
Singapore prides itself on being a safe place and on the diversity of its population. Everyone in our society deserves to feel safe from violence or discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
