Most sexual offence laws in Hong Kong were established in the 1970s based on the laws from England and Wales. Many of them are obsolete and fail to adequately protect victim-survivors. While many overseas jurisdictions reformed their sexual offence laws in the early 2000s, progress in Hong Kong remains stagnant. Recent data from the sexual violence crisis centre RainLily indicates that only 41.4% of cases are reported to the police, with just 6% of accused individuals convicted after the first trial. These statistics highlight the shortcomings of our criminal justice system in delivering justice for victim-survivors.
Stretched for nearly two decades, the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong (HKLRC) began the review process in 2006 and eventually published two reports in 2019 and 2022 respectively after rounds of public consultations. Numerous victim-survivors have endured re-traumatisation in the criminal justice system without achieving justice due to the deficiencies in existing laws.
The government announced in late 2024 that public consultation will be carried out in 2025 based on over 70 recommendations proposed by the HKLRC. ACSVAW welcomes the proposed reform and further advocate for direction of change that better align with the experience of sexual violence victim-survivors.