Singam / Thomas The Art of Advocacy in Singapore

1. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-981-18-2864-5
Verlag: Ethos Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 356 Seiten

Advocacy is a tricky pursuit in Singapore. Your motives can be questioned, your activities monitored, and your scope for action limited. Despite the constraints, civil society activists have persisted, finding ways to pursue their cause and to try to bring about the changes they believe important for Singapore.
In 2013 a small group of civil society stalwarts set out to acknowledge the contributions of these unsung heroes. The Singapore Advocacy Awards was launched, a 3-year project that saw a total of 18 individuals and organisations being honoured.
In this book, 37 activists, many of them winners of the Awards, write about their causes and discuss the strategies shaped and lessons learnt as they practise the delicate art of advocacy in Singapore. Reflecting the nature of civil society, there is a diversity of voices. Some give a more personal account, while others describe the institutional experience of advocacy work. Some essays are short and sweet, others long and detailed. They appear ordered alphabetically by the cause.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Singam, Constance

Thomas, Margaret

Leseproben

We must do something about ageism
By Kanwaljit Soin and Margaret Thomas
The Singapore government unveiled in early 2016 its Action Plan for Successful Ageing, and said it would commit $3 billion to implementing it. The plan details some 70 initiatives to help Singaporeans “age confidently and lead active lives”. The initiatives cut across 12 areas – health and wellness, learning, volunteerism, employment, housing, transport, public spaces, respect and social inclusion, retirement adequacy, healthcare and aged care, protection for vulnerable seniors, and research. It’s an impressive plan. But, astonishingly, there is no mention of ageism. No acknowledgement that ageism, like racism and sexism, exists in Singapore. No reference to the possibility that older people may be disadvantaged and discriminated against because of their age. No recognition of the fact that unless we do something about ageism, all the best-laid plans for Singaporeans to age confidently and actively could come to nought. The term ‘ageism’ was coined in 1971 by gerontologist and author Dr Robert Butler, who was the first director of the National Institute on Aging in the US. Ageism has three elements, he said – prejudicial attitudes towards older people and the ageing process, discriminatory practices against older people, and institutional practices and policies that perpetuate stereotypes about the elderly. In 2015, just a few months before Singapore’s Ageing Action Plan was released, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued its World Report on Ageing and Health and declared that ageism is “an even more pervasive form of discrimination than sexism or racism”. Ageism needs to be combatted, WHO said, and this is what should be done: Age-based stereotypes influence behaviours, policy development and even research. Addressing these by combating ageism must lie at the core of any public health response to population ageing. Although this will be challenging, experiences combating other widespread forms of discrimination, such as sexism and racism, show that attitudes and norms can be changed. Tackling ageism will require building, and embedding in the thinking of all generations, a new understanding of ageing. This cannot be based on outdated conceptualisations of older people as burdens or on unrealistic assumptions that older people today have somehow avoided the health challenges of their parents and grandparents. Rather, it demands an acceptance of the wide diversity of the experience of older age, acknowledgement of the inequities that often underlie it, and an openness to ask how things might be done better. Key actions to be taken include: undertaking communication campaigns to increase knowledge about and understanding of ageing among the media, general public, policy-makers, employers and service providers; legislating against age-based discrimination; ensuring that a balanced view of ageing is presented in the media, for example, by minimizing sensationalist reporting of crimes against older people. There is little doubt that ageism is rampant in Singapore, with discrimination on the basis of age limiting older Singaporeans’ access to education, employment, services, and resources. That age discrimination exists has been acknowledged by our policy-makers. For example, in January 2014, Halimah Yacob, then the Speaker of Parliament, had this to say: “We are still very much an ageist society. Sometimes people may not even know that they are being ageist. I receive a lot of feedback from elderly job applicants and they say it is very difficult for them to get a job because sometimes when they call up an employer, when the employer asks for their age, and then when they inform the employer what their age is, the employer immediately says, okay, the vacancy has been filled.” Madam Halimah, who in September 2017 became Singapore’s first female President, added: “These are some of the assumptions we need to question: Do we always look at an elderly person and immediately assume that they will not be productive, they will not be adaptable, they can’t perform their job? Or do we give them an opportunity? Because it’s our mindset then that determines whether we want to give a person the opportunity or not, regardless of that person’s age. Sometimes I think we tend to also come to certain conclusions when we see elderly people: Oh, they need support, they need someone to depend on.” When Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was speaking at a Budget forum in 2015, he acknowledged that ageism in Singapore workplaces meant experienced older workers were being shut out of jobs. He said: “I think we have to tackle ageism in Singapore. There is sort of a quiet, unstated discrimination among the mid-careers and those who are in their 50s. Mid-40s and 50s, it’s usually not so easy for them to get back in. They are good people, hardworking, who have accumulated a lot of experience. Sometimes a particular industry might have folded, but they have got skills which are relevant to other industries.” Apart from being discriminated against for jobs, older people can be refused travel insurance, car insurance and credit cards because of their age. Older people are sometimes ignored as customers waiting for service at shops or restaurants. The media plays a major role in perpetuating stereotypes of age. The ways in which older people are represented in the media can have a lasting impact on attitudes, reinforcing stereotypes held both by younger people and by older people themselves. In television shows, for example, ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles’ are all too often portrayed as bumbling old fools. In an opinion piece in The Straits Times in August 2016, Professor Tommy Koh said: “Television, advertising, pop culture and even newspapers tend to portray the seniors in a negative light, and feed negative stereotypes. This is not only unfair, but can have a demoralising effect on the seniors who will internalise the negative stereotype about themselves.” Stereotypes of old age, whether positive or negative, do real harm in the real world, argues Lynne Segal, the author of Out of Time: The Pleasures and the Perils of Ageing (2013). She says that the biggest problem for many older people is “ageism, rather than the process of ageing itself.” Additionally, there seem to be only two socially accepted narratives of ageing — one set of stories of success and progress while the other set narrates decline. Neither does justice to the “radical ambiguities” of old age, Segal says. We’re forced to lament or to celebrate old age, rather than simply “affirm it as a significant part of life.” Fearing our future self
Ageing is universal. Everyone grows older. Of the three categories of ‘isms’ —sex, race, and age — age is the only one in which the members of the in-group (the young) will eventually join the out-group (the old). Ageism is therefore prejudice against our feared future self. Like other forms of discrimination, the causes of ageism are deeprooted cultural and social biases (both conscious and unconscious), fear, ignorance and stereotyping. Like other forms of discrimination, ageism can impact on older people’s confidence and quality of life. And like sexism and racism, ageism can be overt or covert. What makes matters worse is the fact that many of us older people are confused ourselves by the experience of ageing, as we have had little or no useful preparation for this state. Some of us have simply carried ageist prejudices formed in youth into our own old age. There is some evidence that those who have benefited from above-average education are better equipped to deal with the adversity that comes with old age than those who have been educationally disadvantaged. Why is it so important to make sure that ageism and age discrimination are not practised in Singapore? Because our society is ageing fast. In 2016, residents aged 65 years and over formed 12.4% of the population, a rise from 11.8% in 2015. It is estimated that by 2026, those over 65 will account for 20% of the population – that is, one in five Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above. At that point, we will become a super-aged nation. Females outnumber males among Singapore’s elderly population. In 2009, the sex ratio among Singapore residents aged 65 and over was 795 males per 1000 females. The sex ratio among the 85 and older was even more skewed, at 495 males per 1000 females; in other words, there were two women to every man in this age group. Apart from the sheer number of senior citizens in the coming decades, the rate at which Singapore is ageing is remarkable. With the 65 years and older segment growing from 7% in 1999 to 20% of the population in 2026, Singapore will transform from being an ageing to a super-aged society in just 27 years. Japan, China, Germany and the United States – countries that are also undergoing ageing – took or will take 36, 32, 76 and 86 years respectively to make that transition. We don’t have very much time to prepare ourselves for the looming demographic reality. The Action Plan for Ageing provides a framework for preparing for our transition to being a super-aged society. But without a good hard look at the effects of ageism on the ability of individuals to age successfully, we may not manage the transition well. We need plans, policies and action not just for active ageing but also for understanding the causes of ageism and reducing if not eliminating all forms of age discrimination. Ageism at work
One of the 12 areas listed in the Action Plan is employment. And interestingly, the...