Singaporean activists has highlighted LGBTIQ rights in the Island nation with the annual Pink Dot celebration.
Now in its seventh year, the event attracted a record crowd of 28,000 people.
The event has grown from humble beginnings in 2009 when 2,500 people attended the first event. Last night’s gathering drew a crowd more than ten times bigger than the inaugural event.
Held in Singapore’s official protest spot ‘Speaker’s Corner’ the event now takes over all of Hong Lim Park and surrounding areas.
‘Pink Dot’ draws attention to LGBTIQ rights in the island nation by shinning pink lights.
#PinkDotSG 2015: Where Love Lives. Thank you for making a statement for a more inclusive Singapore. https://t.co/4vsb0fyklf
— PinkDotSG (@PinkDotSG) June 13, 2015
This year the event had the theme ‘Where Love Lives’. In the lead up to the event a video campaign highlighted that LGBTIQ Singaporeans experienced the same rites of passage as heterosexual couples.
Ahead of today’s gathering the organisation released a statement respectfully disagreeing with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. In a recent interview the Prime Minister had claimed that Singapore does not harass or discriminate against its LGBTIQ citizens.
The Pink Dot Organisation highlighted a recent survey showing that many LGBTIQ Singaporeans have faced discrimination and harassment and argued that the state’s laws that still make homosexuality illegal are discriminatory.
“While it is claimed that Section 377a is not enforced, its presence alone encourages discrimination and reinforces prejudice, leading to censorship in the media and the aggravation of negative stereotypes, impacting the health and wellbeing of a significant segment of society.” the organisation claimed on its website.
“Young LGBT people grow up in fear of being bullied by schoolmates, and cast out by family members. Working adults hide their true selves because they fear being ‘outed’ would affect their chances at promotion, or even cost them their jobs and their means to survive. Transgender individuals are often called names on the streets, labelled as deviants, denied many mainstream jobs, and are sometimes assaulted.”
The event had planned to run a promotional video in cinemas for several weeks leading up to the event. Singapore’s Cathay cinema chain came on board as a sponsor for this year’s event.
The government department that approves advertising took two month’s to review the 15 second commercial before ruling that it was refused a rating.
“It is not in the public interest to allow cinema halls to carry advertising on LGBT issues, whether they are advocating for the cause, or against the cause.” the organisation told Singaporean website Mothership.
A representative of Pink Dot said taking two months to not give a rating decision on the advertisement was the same as banning it.
The rally saw an increase of 2,000 more people than 2014’s Pink Dot celebration. Speaking to the crowd were seven speakers including HIV positive gay man Mr Alvin Tan and transgender man Christopher Khor.
Christopher Khor is currently making a documentary about his transition.
