Speakers included orthopaedic surgeon Dr Kanwaljit Soin, director of the National Library Hedwig Anuar and deputy Sunday editor of the Singapore Monitor, Margaret Thomas.
[2] AWARE seeks to help create a society where there is true gender equality – where women and men are valued as individuals free to make informed and responsible choices about their lives.
[4] AWARE seeks to remove all gender-based barriers so as to allow individuals in Singapore to develop their potential to the fullest and realise their personal visions and hopes.
AWARE held an intensive five-month training programme for English-speaking Helpliners to equip them with knowledge on dealing with domestic violence, marital problems, mental health and LGBTQ matters.
[4] AWARE's Befriender service accompanies women who are victims of violence to the Family Justice Courts of Singapore, police stations, hospitals and other help centres.
Since 1998, AWARE has had a sub-committee that writes and submits shadow reports to the United Nations (UN) CEDAW, on the status of women and ongoing gender inequalities in Singapore.
AWARE's research looks into how this loss in income and increase in out-of-pocket care-related expenses results in financial insecurity for these women as they worry about having enough for their own future care needs.
#asinglelove is a campaign initiated by AWARE in collaboration with Kinetic Singapore and Daughters of Tomorrow (DOT), a non-governmental organisation which seeks to improve access to jobs for lower-income women.
A report on single parents found that 95% of interviewees who sought public housing faced problems, from unrealistic income ceilings and long debarment periods to a lack of transparency and clarity in policies.
Through community engagement, the development of Muslim women's authentic voices, and collaborations within regional networks, GEC worked to counter the state's narrative that “culture” inhibits a full commitment to gender equality.
This campaign was sparked by the global #MeToo movement that erupted in late 2017, whereby women spoke up about the sexual violence they had suffered in their lives.
At the event, AWARE debuted a video featuring 10 Singaporean women talking about their own experiences of sexual violence, many for the first time.
[16] The Ministry of National Development (MND) had responded to AWARE's in-depth December 2016 study on single parents, saying that it would take the organisation's findings into consideration.
[17] Following the study, AWARE launched a petition on 15 May 2017, in conjunction with the International Day of Families, to lobby the Singapore government to give more help to single parents.
On 11 September 2017, Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC) MP Louis Ng submitted a separate petition to Parliament on behalf of seven single parents.
[21] MP Louis Ng hoped that the petition would result in the recognition of unmarried parents and their children as a family nucleus to ensure their eligibility for public housing schemes.
[22] AWARE's study, its petition, the parliamentary push by MP Louis Ng as well as the personal struggles of single parents were covered extensively by the mainstream media.
[24] With increasing evidence that the impact of the ageing population falls disproportionately on women, the organisation urged the government to budget for care as a social good, rather than leaving its costs for families to address on their own.
[4] As the government moved to enhance protection of older people from abuse with the Vulnerable Adults Act, AWARE also highlighted the importance of balancing the need to empower interventions by public agencies against the rights to privacy and due process.
To mark International Migrants’ Day in 2016, AWARE also released a policy brief calling for key reforms that would particularly help lower-income transnational families.
These new members, under the leadership of Josie Lau and organisation by Thio Su Mien, then nominated and voted in new women to the executive committee.
Thio claimed that AWARE’s sex education had encouraged local students to view homosexuality in ‘neutral’ terms instead of ‘negatively’, warning that “this is something which should concern parents in Singapore”.
[33] The EGM finally concluded, after over eight hours, with a vote of no confidence in the “New Guard”, and a new executive committee elected with a mix of old and new members of AWARE.
In November 2013, AWARE made headlines when it brought to light certain lyrics which condoned sexual and physical violence being sung during National Service route marches.
They had argued that male bonding was not a reason to justify sexual assault or murder, and that if the lyrics were truly trivial, people would not have an issue with the particular verse being omitted from the song.
It argued that “every person deserves access to housing, education and healthcare, because these are basic requirements for human sustenance and social participation” and that “military service should not be held up as the single gold standard of citizen belonging”.
[46] The Facebook post also mentioned AWARE's stance against “any link between support for fundamental needs and an individual's status as an NSman, especially when the military may not be suitable for many people, regardless of their gender.”.