Women's Charter:

The Women's Charter recognizes three aspects of family violence: hurt, restrain and harassment.

The following acts constitute family violence:

• willfully or knowingly placing or attempting to place a family member in fear of hurt
• causing hurt to a family member by such act that is known or ought to be known would result in hurt
• wrongfully confining or restraining a family member
• causing continual harassment of a family member, with intent to cause or knowing that it is likely to cause anguish

The following persons are regarded as one's family members:

• spouse or former spouse
• child
• parents
• parents-in-law
• siblings
• any other relative or an incapacitated person who, in the opinion of the court, should, in the circumstances, be regarded as the person's family member

Partners who are living together but not legally married are not recognized as family members, thus potentially creating a gap for unmarried women who may require protection from violence committed by their partners in the home.

Stalking is not expressly recognized as a form of family violence under the Women's Charter. However, this could amount to continual harassment, which is a form of family violence under the Women's Charter.

The PHA, however, provides for criminal and civil remedies against unlawful stalking. Stalking is not specifically defined, but the relevant legislation includes a number of examples of conduct that is likely to amount to stalking in particular circumstances, including:

• following the victim or a related person
• loitering in a place near the victim's or a related person's place of residence or business
• interfering with property in the possession of the victim or a related person
• repeatedly sending emails to a subordinate with suggestive comments about the subordinate's body
• sending flowers to an individual daily, even though the relevant individual has asked for this to stop
• repeatedly circulating revealing photos of a classmate to other classmates

Harassment is a form of family violence under the Women's Charter, where a protection order may be sought, as described above. There is no statutory definition of harassment under the Women's Charter.

Other than the Women's Charter, the PHA provides for criminal and civil remedies against harassment. The PHA recognizes different types of harassment with varying degrees of culpability. The following acts or behaviors constitute harassment:

• intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress by threatening, abusive or insulting words, behavior or communication or publishing identity
• using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviors that are likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress
• using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior with the intent to cause the victim to believe, or that is likely to cause victims to believe, that unlawful violence will be used or to prove the use of unlawful violence
• stalking that causes harassment, alarm or distress, with intent or where one knows or ought to reasonably know that it is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress 

The Women's Charter does not adopt the terminologies of victim or abuser but refers to the person against whom a protection order is made and the person who is applying for the protection order. This is consistent with the fact that family violence is not regarded as an offense itself under the Women's Charter, but rather it allows the person subject to family violence or subject to a similar kind of violence to seek protection orders.

The PHA largely refers to the person committing harassment as the accused and the person against whom the harassment is committed as the victim or target person.

Please see above.

Please see above.

Marital rape is not expressly recognized as a form of family violence under the Women's Charter. However, it is arguably a form of continual harassment or hurt, both of which would amount to family violence under the Women's Charter, affording the victim a recourse for protection orders.

Outside the Women's Charter, rape is a statutory criminal offense under the Penal Code, which criminalizes sexual, oral and anal penetration by a man on a woman. The offense carries a heavy penalty of imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine or caning. In the case of marital rape, the penalties may be doubled where it is proven that the victim is in an intimate or close relationship with the offender, which is likely be apply for married couples.

Penal Code

The Penal Code of Singapore is the main legislation governing criminal law and criminal offenses.

The Code does not recognize domestic violence as a distinct class of criminal offense. However, conducts found in domestic violence cases are likely to constitute a criminal offense under the Penal Code as well, ranging from wrongful restrain, wrongful confinement, criminal force and assault, to rape and, in extreme cases, causing death by a rash or negligent act, homicide and murder.

The Penal Code imposes enhanced penalties on criminal offenses affecting the human body (which include the offenses described immediately above) committed against victims in intimate relationships or close relationships. Intimate relationships and close relationships are not defined by marriage. However, whether the offender and victim are living in the same household or sharing any sexual relationship is taken into consideration in determining if the victim and offender are in an intimate or close relationship. Where offenses are committed against victims in an intimate or close relationship, the penalties can be doubled.

Other limited instances of criminal offenses against women can also be found in the Penal Code, such as voluntarily causing a pregnant woman to miscarry. Where this is done without the consent of the woman, such offense carries a heavy maximum penalty of imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term that may extend up to 10 years.

The Penal Code also criminalizes various wrongful conduct against female domestic workers employed to carry out domestic services and living in the same household.

CYPA

The CYPA provides for the welfare and protection of children and young persons in need, who are those aged below 14 and between 14 and 18, respectively.

The concept of domestic violence can be found in certain offenses under the CYPA, such as the offense off ill-treating a child or young person. Under the CYPA, it is an offense for a custodian, caregiver or person having charge of a child or young person to ill-treat the child or young person, including physical or sexual abuse, causing physical pain, suffering, injury or emotional harm or injury to their health or development. Where the conducts result in the death of the child or young person, these offenses carry a penalty of imprisonment for up to 14 years, a fine up to SGD 40,000 or both. In other cases, the offenses carry a penalty of imprisonment for up to eight years, a fine up to SGD 8,000 or both.

The public enforcer is also given the power under the CYPA to enter premises without a warrant and to remove a child or young person from the premises, in cases where the public enforcer believes on reasonable grounds that the child or young person is in need of care or protection.