5 People Protested Outside MOE Building in Support of LGBTQ+; 3 Arrested

By
Shawn Ambrose
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Earlier this month, a disgruntled transgender student accused the Ministry of Education of unfair treatment.

The student said she’s a male-to-female transgender girl who had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

She claimed she was supposed to undergo hormone therapy as part of her treatment, but was stopped from doing so by the MOE.

Many netizens were appalled by the claims, and even though the ministry later denied the allegations, some have taken to the streets in protest.

5 People Protested Outside MOE Building in Support of LGBTQ+; 3 Arrested

5 people were seen protesting outside the the headquarters of the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Tuesday afternoon (26 Jan).

Two of them left when asked to do so, and the remaining three – aged 19 to 32 – were arrested.

According to journalist Kirsten Han, the protest was staged against “transphobia in the education system”.

The five protestors could be seen holding up placards, as well as the rainbow-coloured pride flag and a transgender flag.

Some of the placards read “#Fix schools not students” and “Why are we not in your sex ed”.

According to TODAY, the police said the group had allegedly gathered outside MOE’s headquarters at around 5pm even though they did not have a permit to carry out the public assembly.

When they arrived, only three protestors were there.

According to Han, the other two had left when asked to do so by security officers.

The remaining three ignored the police’s warnings to stop their protest, which prompted officers to issue a direction, saying they would be arrested if they continued protesting.

The trio refused to comply, and were arrested under the Public Order Act.

They have since been released on bail, and police investigations are ongoing.

Called On Education Minister to End LGBTQ+ Discrimination 

Han later shared a statement issued by the protestors, who identified themselves as group of students.

They said they were staging a peaceful protest, and called on Education Minister Lawrence Wong to “end discrimination against LGBTQ+ students by MOE schools”.

“Discrimination and harassment against LGBTQ+ students is a long standing issue in our school which damages their wellbeing and denies access to safe and supportive education”, the statement said.

“Most of us demonstrating today have experienced this first hand”.

The group asserted that the education ministry has a duty to protect the human rights of LGBTQ+ students in its care.

What Happened

In her post, the aggrieved transgender student claimed that MOE prevented her from getting hormonal treatment.

In 2019, the transgender student was diagnosed with gender dysphoria, which is the psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity.

She informed MOE of her diagnosis when started her pre-university education at a junior college.

The ministry said it would like to work with her to learn more about her issue.

However, when she went to see her doctor to begin her hormone therapy, she was allegedly told that the request (for treatment) was suddenly blocked as MOE had intervened.

“This meant that my doctor had to call off the referral, causing me further mental trauma as this affected my ability to pass and present as a female,” the student said.

The student claimed she was also asked to cut her hair to fit the boys’ hairstyle in the handbook and to wear the male uniform.

She was also allegedly told that if she was unable to fit into the boys’ uniform after getting hormone therapy, she would be expelled from her school.

“The principal’s explanation for this was that ‘due to your presentation, you would be as disruptive to the school environment as a student with severe autism’.”

When the ministry denied her claims, she said it was an “outright lie”.

Mr Wong has yet to respond to the group’s statement.

Featured Image: Twitter (@kixes)

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]