Page 49 SINGAPORE (CONTINUED) Ending Sex Discrimination in the Law EQUALITY NOW – BEIJING+25 (2) Whoever commits an offence under this section against a person (B) who is of or above 14 years of age but below 16 years of age — (a) in a case where the offender is in a relationship that is exploitative of B, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 20 years, and shall also be liable to fine or to caning; and (b) in any other case, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, or with fine, or with both. (3) Whoever commits an offence under this section against a person (B) who is under 14 years of age shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 20 years, and shall also be liable to fine or to caning. (4) No person shall be guilty of an offence under this section for an act of penetration against his or her spouse with the consent of that spouse. Note: The Criminal Law Reform Act, 2019 has removed the immunity for marital rape. Now, husbands who rape their wives can be found guilty of rape under Articles 375 and 376-A of The Penal Code. However, the amended law maintains marital immunity for sexual activity with minors under the age of 16 who are said to “consent”. 38 These provisions encourage “child marriage” and assume the children, mostly girls, are willingly consenting to sexual activity and not coerced merely because they are married to the offender. Article 12(1) of the Singapore Constitution: All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. THAILAND Criminal Code, B.E 2499 (1956): Section 277: Whoever, has sexual intercourse with a girl not yet over fifteen years of age and not being his own wife, whether such girl shall consent or not, shall be punished with imprisonment of four to twenty years and fined of eight thousand to forty thousand Baht. If the commission of the offence according to the first paragraph is committed against a girl not yet over thirteen years of age, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of seven to twenty years and fined of fourteen thousand to forty thousand Baht, or imprisonment for life….. Take Action – Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha No. 1, Nakhon Pathom Road, Dusit District, Bangkok 10300 THAILAND Email: soc@soc.go.th; prforeign@prd.go.th thailand@un.int (Mission to the UN in New York) Twitter: @prayutofficial The offence as provided in the first paragraph, if the offender being the man commits against the girl over thirteen years but not yet over fifteen years of age with her consent and the Court grants such man and girl to marry together afterwards, the offender shall not be punished for such offence. If the Court grants them to marry together while the offender is imprisoned, the Court shall release such offender.” Note: Section 27 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand: All persons are equal before the law, and shall have rights and liberties and be protected equally under the law. Men and women shall enjoy equal rights.