Cyber-flashing, voyeurism, doxxing criminalised from 1 Jan 2020
SINGAPORE — From 1 January 2020, cyber-flashing, voyeurism and doxxing will be criminal offences, as amendments to the Penal Code that were passed in 2019 kick in.
These amendments were introduced through the Criminal Law Reform Act (CLRA) and Protection from Harassment (Amendment) Act, which were passed by Parliament on 6 and 7 May 2019 respectively.
In a media release on Friday (27 December), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that these amendments keep Singapore’s legislation up-to-date with emerging trends and enhance protection for vulnerable victims.
A ministry spokesperson noted that advances in technology have facilitated the commission of sexual offences such as voyeurism and the distribution of intimate images without consent.
Specialised offences were therefore introduced to criminalise the making, distribution, possession of, and access to, voyeuristic recordings or intimate images; and the distribution of or threat to distribute intimate images or recordings.
Some examples of voyeuristic recordings include filming upskirt videos and installing spy cameras in toilets. These acts were previously prosecuted under the offence of insulting a woman’s modesty.
A new offence of cyber-flashing was also introduced. This involves the non-consensual exposure of genitals in the virtual space, such as sending unsolicited images of genitals over an electronic medium to another person.
Protecting minors and other victims
In addition, new offences were introduced to better protect minors from sexual exploitation. Among others, it will soon be an offence to commit exploitative sexual penetration with a minor of or above 16 but under 18 years of age; to sexually groom a minor of or above 16 but under 18 years of age; or to sexually communicate with a minor below 16 years of age.
It will also be an offence to engage in sexual activity before a minor below 16 years of age, or to cause a minor below 16 years of age to look at a sexual image.
Furthermore, the judiciary has criminalised the spectrum of offences to deal with every person involved in the supply and consumption of child abuse material. The new offences include the production, distribution, advertising, and possession of child abuse material.
Separately, marital immunity for rape is fully repealed. “Sexual relations in any relationship should be based on mutual consent. This amendment ensures that all women are protected from sexual abuse,” said an MHA spokesperson.
The amendments also address the increasing trend of individuals being harassed through doxxing, or the online publication of personally identifiable information such as photographs, contact numbers or addresses with malicious intent.
The publication of such details with the intention of harassing, threatening or facilitating violence against the person will be criminalised.
The MHA spokesperson stressed that the intention or knowledge of the person posting the information is key to the offence. “The new offence does not stop people from legitimately sharing information, such as posting videos of an incident to give a factual account of the incident, or to seek help identifying the perpetrators of crimes.”
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