Living in Limbo: Gender and housing insecurity in Singapore

IMPORTANT: The venue has changed to Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Manasseh Meyer Building, Seminar Room 3-5. Kindly also note that Project Executive Lee Yoke Mun will replace Corinna Lim in representing AWARE.

Note: This is an in-person event.

Housing is a basic need. So why is it that in Singapore—a nation widely recognised for its comprehensive public housing programme—many people still encounter housing barriers? Women, in particular, face greater challenges, whether accessing housing as single mothers or encountering difficulties when rough sleeping.

To commemorate the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, this panel event will draw upon a growing body of local research about the gendered realities of housing insecurity in Singapore. This includes AWARE’s recently concluded evaluation of the Support, Housing and Enablement (S.H.E.) Project, a research-based service that provided stable and decent housing, alongside transformational support programmes, for 18 low-income single-mother families; AWARE’s earlier work on single mothers’ access to public housing; the nationwide street counts of homelessness done by the Social Inclusion Project (SIP, at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy); and the Minimum Income Standard studies on the costs of a basic standard of living in Singapore.

Our panel of speakers brings together the voices of advocacy and research as well as women who have experienced housing insecurity firsthand. They will discuss the difficulties single mothers face in securing stable housing; the unique challenges of homelessness for women; the implications of recent debates about living costs and the definition of family; and the policy changes that still need to happen. What might adequate housing for everyone—including those with the fewest means—look like? Join us as we attempt to find an answer.

This event is contribute-what-you-can. Suggested contribution of $5 per head.

Our panellists:

Stephanie Chok (moderator)

Dr Stephanie Chok is an independent researcher who received her PhD from Murdoch University, Western Australia. Her PhD focused on the precariousness of low-paid temporary migrant workers in Singapore, and the thesis was runner-up in the 2015 Asian Studies Association of Australia President’s Prize for Best Thesis on Asia. For the last 10 years, she has volunteered and worked in non-governmental organisations and been involved in multiple research and advocacy projects, including authouring research reports on wage theft, forced labour, income inequality and food insecurity.

Lee Yoke Mun

Lee Yoke Mun (she/her) is a Project Executive at AWARE. Her work at the women's rights NGO focuses on advocating for low-income women and comprehensive sexuality education. She also coordinates some of AWARE's community programmes, including its community Sexual Assault First Responder Trainings and Birds & Bees workshops for parents.

Jeyda Simren Sekhon Atac

Jeyda Simren Sekhon Atac is a Research Assistant in the Social Inclusion Project at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. As part of her research focus, she co-authored the recent research report entitled "Seeking Shelter: Homeless during the COVID-19 Pandemic". She completed her Masters in Comparative and International Education at the University of Oxford, where she was a Leading for Impact Fellow, after receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Sociology at the University of Cambridge. She also volunteers widely, both in Singapore and remotely, with initiatives working to create social impact internationally.

Liyana Dhamirah

Having gone through a period of homelessness, Liyana has emerged stronger through her struggles and even wrote the award-winning book Homeless: The Untold Story of a Mother’s Struggle in Crazy Rich Singapore. She is also a contributing writer for White: Behind Mental Health Stigma and the recipient of the “Woman of Resilience” award from AWARE in 2019. Liyana was invited to deliver her maiden speech on the TEDx Singapore stage. Work and life as a mother of four keeps her busy, but in between it all, Liyana actively advocates for lower-income and under-privileged families.