By Imelda Saad | Posted: 10
January 2011 1917 hrs
SINGAPORE: Parliament has passed sweeping changes to
the Women's Charter, which was last amended 15 years ago.
The key to the changes is making sure divorced men pay up to
support their children and ex-wives.
Following the changes, a man who defaults on maintenance payments
will have to go for financial counselling and do community
service.
His maintenance debts can also be reported to credit bureaus, which
would affect his credit worthiness.
And to protect kids, the court can transfer matrimonial assets -
divided between parents - to a Children's Development
Account.
Still, some MPs questioned if more can be done, such as
confiscating a spouse's travel documents, imposing curfews or even
confiscating handphones.
But Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian
Balakrishnan said such sanctions would be difficult to
enforce.
Instead, the government has opted for measures such as requiring
those who re-marry to declare their maintenance debts.
There were also calls for greater parity in the treatment between
men and women in issues related to a failed marriage, such as
access-to-children rights.
In reply, Dr Balakrishnan made clear that just as men are expected
to pay maintenance, women should also comply fully to a court's
access orders and not use their children as bargaining chips.
The minister also explained why even after 50 years, the Women's
Charter will not be renamed to a more gender neutral "Family
Charter" to reflect the changing role of men and women in bringing
up kids.
He said: "The brutal truth is even today after we have made much
progress, women and children still need protection. Furthermore, we
also have to ask ourselves whether as a society, have we reached a
point where the majority of us are willing to say that a woman has
the responsibility to support a man after a divorce?
"I'm not sure outside this House that a majority of people have
come round to this view. So my sense is: we will hold the current
position but flag this up as a constant review."
- CNA
