The Singapore Police Force (SPF) held the Sexual Assault Awareness Seminar on 12 April 2022, in conjunction with the international Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The event at the Police Cantonment Complex was graced by Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Mr K Shanmugam.
Sexual offences are an affront to our fundamental values of equality and respect, and have been a cause of concern in Singapore. Between 2017 and 2020, there were about 9,200 reports of sexual assault, including rape, sexual assault by penetration, outrage of modesty, and sexual offences involving children and vulnerable victims. Of these, 869 were allegedly committed by family members or relatives. In 2021, outrage of modesty cases accounted for 42.3% of all sexual crime cases reported, which is an increase of about 12% from 1,321 cases in 2020 to 1,480 cases in 2021 [1]. In 2019, there were 1,605 outrage of modesty cases reported. Given the grave nature of sexual offences, it is important to ensure that victims are handled sensitively from the moment they seek Police assistance until case conclusion and are accorded with the required care and support.
The seminar included presentations by SPF’s key partners, such as the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Ministry of Social and Family Development, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and in-house specialists from our Police Psychological Services Department. The Seminar served to enhance awareness of the impact of sexual assault on victims, and promoted partnership and collaborations amongst the stakeholders – Government agencies and community partners – to better protect and support sexual assault victims.
Minister Shanmugam delivered the keynote address at the seminar and emphasised the Government’s commitment to taking a tough stance on sexual offences, seeking justice for victims, and working with the community to better support victims. The Police have made significant improvements to Police procedures and officers’ management of sexual assault victims over the years. Efforts have also been made by the Police to raise public awareness about sexual assault, such as partnership with MOE to engage educational institutions about sexual offences and the sexual crime situation. Minister Shanmugam said that these changes have improved protection and support for sexual assault victims.
The Police recognise that despite our efforts, more can be done to improve our handling of sexual crime. Therefore, as announced by Minister Shanmugam Police are conducting a second Sexual Crime Review which focuses on four key areas:
- Police’s operational and investigative processes;
- Training for Police officers;
- Community partnerships to strengthen support for victims; and
- Public awareness of sexual crime investigation and court processes.
As part of the review, the Police will be exploring four initiatives in the coming months.
Formation of Sexual Crime and Family Violence Command
The Police will set up a new Sexual Crime and Family Violence Command by next year. This new Command will oversee all sexual crime and family violence cases, and will be staffed by Police officers who specialise in the investigation of such cases. These will be officers who have specialised expertise in sexual crime and family violence related laws, and possess good victim management skills.
Enhanced Training for Police Officers
To help Police officers better respond to sexual crime cases, the Police will strengthen the training for Investigation Officers and also all frontline Police officers. They will undergo regular training on sexual crime investigations and victim care. The Police will also organise talks and seminars for officers, where they will learn from professionals and stakeholders on best practices to manage sexual crimes.
Formation of New Community Partnerships
Supporting sexual assault victims requires the whole community to step forward. Besides strengthening relationships with existing partners, the Police have also been exploring new partnerships. An example is Police’s collaboration with Care Corner Project StART [2], or CCPS. CCPS is a family violence specialist centre which provides support to victims of any form of violence. To ensure that victims can continue to receive support during and after investigations, the Police are working on referring sexual assault victims to CCPS, such as for counselling support and interventions to augment the emotional support provided by the Victim Care Officers under the Police’s Victim Care Cadre programme.
The Police are also exploring the potential partnership with SG Her Empowerment Limited, which arose from the Sunlight Alliance for Action, to better support victims of sexual crimes, including victims of technology-facilitated sexual crimes.
Launch of Revamped Sexual Assault Webpage on SPF’s Website
To increase public awareness of the investigation processes for sexual crime cases, the Police will launch a revamped one-stop webpage on sexual assault on the SPF website. This webpage will provide comprehensive information on the definition of sexual assault, investigation processes, victim care measures, and support services for victims. To better prepare sexual assault victims for the investigations, there will also be videos depicting the Police’s investigation process.
[1] This increase was partly due to a lower number of outrage of modesty cases recorded in 2020 because of the Circuit Breaker.
[2] Care Corner Project StART refers to Care Corner Project Stop Abusive Relationships Together
Please refer to ANNEX A for the programme of the seminar.
Please refer to ANNEX B for the profiles of the speakers and their presentation write-ups.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
12 April 2022 @ 12:00 PM