Doctors and other healthcare professionals in Singapore are expected by the Ministry of Health to practise according to evidence-based best practices and clinical ethics. The information and guidance for this is provided by internationally accepted medical textbooks and peer reviewed articles in reputable medical journals. The views regarding sexual orientation and gender identity stated in these references also hold sway.
Despite this, conversion therapy, which aims to change the sexual orientation of a homosexual or the gender identity of a transgender person, is not illegal and is still being practised by several churches at the heart of the ex-gay movement in Singapore.
Health Promotion Board, Singapore[]
The Health Promotion Board's FAQs on sexuality[1] state that:
"Homosexuality and bisexuality are not mental illnesses. Studies show that sexual orientation has no bearing on mental health or emotional stability."
"A same-sex relationship is not too different from a heterosexual relationship. Both take the commitment of two people. It’s also a connection of two families, cultures and sometimes racial backgrounds and values."
Institute of Mental Health, Singapore[]
On 21 November 2015, Prof Chong Siow Ann of the Institute of Mental Health wrote an op-ed article in The Straits Times[2]. He concluded with the following paragraphs:
"Most straight parents would want their children to be straight and if things turn out otherwise, their first impulse would be to "get the problem fixed", as with this young man's mother who had sought help from me with such desperate hopefulness. After a long discussion, as they left my clinic, I could not miss the sense of her profound disappointment.
That was years ago and I have not seen them since. In hindsight, I wished I had told the mother that parental reaction to such revelation can significantly influence the young person's self-esteem and irreparably shape his expectations of acceptance or rejection by others outside the family.
There will be some parents who will reject their offspring and continue to feel repulsed; some will insist that their child remain in the closet than to come out and face the external world with its varying shades of homophobia. But some will, with time and habituation, and by dint of parental love, come to tolerate and accept this part of their child."
Ministry of Health, Singapore[]
In reply to Nominated Member of Parliament Anthea Ong's question in Parliament on 4 May 2020 regarding conversion therapy to change a homosexual person's sexual orientation, Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong said[3]:
"The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision (ICD-10), which is the current standardised medical classification list by the World Health Organisation (WHO), states that sexual orientation alone is not to be regarded as a clinical disorder that needs to be cured. Homosexuality has not been considered a psychiatric diagnosis since 1973 (by the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and 1977 (by the WHO International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems).
MOH expects doctors and other healthcare professionals to practice according to evidence-based best practice and clinical ethics, and to consider and respect patients’ preferences and circumstances (including sexual orientation) when providing care. For individuals who seek care with a desire to change one’s sexual orientation through clinical means, healthcare professionals should care for and support these individuals with empathy and sensitivity.
Mechanisms for the public to feedback on care provided already exist at public healthcare institutions and members of the public can submit a formal complaint to the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) if a doctor is acting unethically or providing inappropriate treatment.
The SMC takes complaints against doctors seriously and will investigate and impose disciplinary action if the doctor was found guilty of misconduct."
See also[]
- International medical authorities' position statements on same-sex parenting
- International medical authorities' position statements on homosexuality
- Archive of Health Promotion Board's FAQs on Sexuality
- Ex-gay movement in Singapore
- Sy Rogers
- Earliest cases of HIV/AIDS in Singapore
- Discrimination against homosexuals in Singapore
References[]
- Chong Siow Ann, vice-chairman of the medical board (research) at the Institute of Mental Health, "Coming out: How parents react is crucial", The Straits Times, 21 November 2015[4].
Acknowledgements[]
This article was written by Roy Tan.