Symposium on Sexual Violence in Asia

Date

1st & 2nd June 2018 (Friday & Saturday)

Time

0830 - 1800 (Day 1)

0900 - 1800 (Day 2)

Venue

Jockey Club Tower 3/F CPD 3.28, HKU

Fee

HK$300 (2 days) / HK$200 (1 day)​

Language

Primarily English

Speakers

​Day One
FRI, 1st June 2018

Ms Ruikan Yang

Yang Ruikan joined UN Women in 2018, as EVAW (Ending Violence against Women) Programme Coordinator. 
Before this, Ruikan worked for Save the Children from 2008 to 2018, as the National Health Lead of China Programme. She led strategic development and provided technical support to health projects in areas including newborn health, child health and child nutrition.
Before Save the Children, Ruikan worked as technical officer at the Chinese National Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control (NCAIDS) and the US Centre for Disease Control (USCDC) in Beijing, in areas of HIV/AIDS anti-retrovirus treatment (ATR), Prevention of Mother-to-child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS, and TB/HIV co-infection.
Yang Ruikan studied for a BSc in Chinese Pharmacy in Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and an MSc in Public Health in the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

​Dr Catherine White OBE

Clinical Director of the Saint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), Manchester University Foundation Trust (2003 – present) St. Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre, was the first SARC in the UK. It has had over 30,000 clients and sees on average 1600 per year. Dr White was instrumental in establishing the Saint Mary's integrated Child SARC service in 2006 which provides forensic, medical, psychological services as well as a remote court room link for child and vulnerable adult witnesses.
 
Appointed UN Expert on Sexual Violence involved with developing forensic medical services in the Middle East (2012- present).
 
Honoured on the Queen's New Year's Honours List 2014 with an OBE for services to Vulnerable People

Dr David Wells

Dr David Wells was appointed Head of Clinical Forensic Medicine at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) in 1995 and held this position for 19 years.

He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine at Monash University (and has held a similar role in the Department of Paediatrics). He developed the international post-graduate program in Forensic Medicine at Monash University.

While he retains a role at the VIFM he currently holds appointments as a consultant to the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
​
His recent activities includes work for the UN and the WHO in Africa (developing forensic medical services), Samoa (developing a multi-sectoral response to domestic violence), the Middle East (development of medico-legal capacity in the Palestinian Occupied Territories) and a global project for the WHO, aimed at assisting victims of sexual violence that occurs during periods of armed conflict and identifying perpetrators of those crimes.

Prof Keiji Fukuda

Professor Keiji Fukuda joined the School of Public Health of The University of Hong Kong in December 2016. Professor Fukuda has extensive public health experience at global and national levels. During 2005 – 2016, he was a staff member of the World Health Organization (WHO) and held positions as Scientist, Coordinator and then Director of the Global Influenza Programme (2005-2008), Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment ad interim (2008-2009), Special Adviser on Pandemic Influenza to the Director-General (2009-2010), Assistant Director-General for Health Security (2010-2015) and Special Representative for Antimicrobial Resistance for the Director-General (2015-2016).

At WHO, he was instrumental in global and national approaches to issues such as health security; preparedness and responses for emerging infectious diseases; the development and adoption of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, a ground breaking intergovernmental agreement on the sharing of potential pandemic influenza viruses and related benefits; and implementation of the International Health Regulations. He personally led several field investigations related to globally important and sensitive outbreaks such as influenza H5N1 and H7N9, Pandemic influenza, SARS, MERS and Ebola and was often WHO’s main media spokesperson for such issues. Most recently, he directly facilitated the successful development of an intergovernmental, multisectoral process which resulted in a historic Heads of State level meeting at the United Nations (UN), and a UN resolution, on antimicrobial resistance. During his tenure at WHO, Professor Fukuda has become increasingly involved and interested in health diplomacy, which has emerged as a major need in an increasingly globalized world.
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Before joining WHO, Professor Fukuda was Chief of Epidemiology in the Influenza Branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers (CDC). He led the CDC field teams that assisted Hong Kong during the emergence of avian influenza H5N1 in 1997 and has worked closely and extensively with China on issues such as influenza surveillance, SARS and influenza H7N9. He helped develop new models combining epidemiological and laboratory data to estimate the burden of influenza and on US influenza vaccination policy. Early in his career, Professor Fukuda worked on chronic fatigue syndrome and led the international team that redefined this condition. He is a physician who trained in internal medicine and received his BA from Oberlin College, MD from the University of Vermont and MPH from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr Pierre Chan

Dr. Pierre Chan is a medical doctor working in public hospital.  He is a specialist in Gastroenterology and Hepatology.  Pierre coordinates training for interns, doctors, nurses and medical staff and he sets up websites and mobile apps for the training.  He is a deputy director of Crew Resources Management Classroom Program in HK East Cluster and is a program director of GI Endoscopy Multi-disciplinary Simulation Training for College and Hospital Authority.  Apart from hospital work, he is past President of Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association, elected member of the Medical Council of Hong Kong and member of Legislative Council of HKSAR since 2016.

Dr Kwanhathai Darin Wong

Dr Kwanhathai Darin Wong graduated her medical degree from the University of Liverpool in 1998 and completed her postgraduate training in Emergency Medicine from University Science Malaysia (USM) in 2008.
Current appointment as Head of Emergency Department, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia since 2012.

​Post held:
- Council member of Malaysian Resuscitation Association (MyRES)
- Vice-president of Penang CPR Society  
- Vice-chair for Penang Emergency Medicine Welfare Association (PKPKPP). 
- State Chair for One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) committee, advocating improving services for victims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse.
- Advanced Trauma Life Support Instructor
- Advanced Lie Support Instructor
 
Her special interests lie in acute resuscitation medicine, prehospital care medicine and toxicology. She is the Malaysian EXCO member for research on Pan Asian resuscitation outcomes study (PAROS) in the Prehospital care field. She is also the primary investigator in Penang for CRASH3 trial looking at the use of tranexamic acid in traumatic intracranial bleeding.

Dato Dr Zahari Noor

Dato Dr Zahari Noor is Consultant in Forensic Medicine for the Federal Government of Malaysia.
He is a specialist in both Clinical Forensic Medicine and Forensic Pathology having received his training from The University of Sheffield as well as Monash University.

Dr Ajith Tennakoon

Dr Ajith Tennakoon is the Chief Judicial Medical Officer in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is also the head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Colombo.
He is a member of the Board of Study in Forensic Medicine and the Specialty Board for Disaster Management Diploma of the PGIM of the University of Colombo and Visiting Senior Lecturer to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo. He has been a post graduate trainer and examiner in Forensic Medicine since 2001. He is the former president of the College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka.

He has been an international resource person for the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture victims in training of doctors in using Istanbul Protocol since 2008, Member of Advisory Panel appointed on revision of the UN Manuel on the Effective Prevention an Investigation of Extralegal, Arbitrary and summary Executions in 2015. He is currently a member of the working committee of the Asia Pacific Medico Legal Agencies (APMLA).
 
Dr Tennakoon is also a member of the director board of National Child Protection Authority in Sri Lanka, National Authority on assistance and protection of witness and victims in Sri Lanka, National committee on organ transplantation in Sri Lanka, National committee on Injury Prevention and member of the sectoral committee to monitor the implementation of the National Human Right Action Plan. He is also a member of the Directors board of the Family Rehabilitation Centre of Sri Lanka.

Dr Anirut Worawat

Dr Worawat is currently the Head of Division of Clinical Forensic Medicine of Department of Forensic Medicine in Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, and Chief of Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Center (SAFE Center) of Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital.

​Dr Worawat received his medical training in the Faculty of Medicine in Chulalongkorn University and attained the Diploma of the Thai Board of Forensic Medicine. He obtained certificates in Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Australia in family violence, and Central Institute of Forensic Science, Thailand in forensic anthropology.

Dr Chying-Chyuan Chan

Dr Chying-Chyuan Chan (詹景全醫師) is the chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Taipei City Hospital (Renai Branch). He is also the Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology of National Defence Medical Center (NDMC) in Taiwan. Dr Chan was graduate from Department of Medicine of China Medical College in Taiwan, and Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences of NDMC. He started his career in HuaLien in 1998. Dr Chan has started the one-stop integrated crisis centre in hospital for sexual violence victims in Taipei. Dr Chan was awarded Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Award in Ministry of Interior (2009), Victim of Justice Help Award in Ministry of Justice (2011) and Purple Ribbon Award in Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan (2014).

Ms Linda S. Y. Wong

Ms. Linda S. Y. Wong is the Executive Director of the Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women (ACSVAW).  She has a Bachelor degree in Social Work graduated in Hong Kong Baptist University in 1988.  In addition, Ms. Wong also earned two Master degrees in Women's Studies (University of Kent, UK, 2001), and Counselling (HKU, 2004).  

Ms. Wong is the founder of the ACSVAW which set up in 1997.  She has very rich frontline experiences on working with sexual violence victims and therefore she and her fellow founders have set up “RainLily”, the first one-stop rape crisis services centre in Hong Kong in 2000.  She has cultivated her passion and the social work values and visions to sustain her hearty work on supporting the victims.  In February, 2007, Ms. Wong was appointed the Executive Director of the Association.  At present, she is responsible for the overall direction and external liaison of the Association.  Apart from that, Ms. Wong has worked for the women’s field for more than two decades. She has rich experiences in women’s advocacy work.

Dr Philip SL Beh

Dr BEH Philip SL is the clinical associate professor at the Department of Pathology at University of Hong Kong. At present, he is also an Honorary Consultant and Management Committee member of RainLily.

Apart from his current research on the development and maintenance of a Hong Kong Homicide Monitoring Database, Dr. Beh’s area of expertise and study has been the issues surrounding sexual assaults in Hong Kong. Studies on prevalence, and victim and offender characteristics have been published, as well as a study on attrition rates. Continuous advocacy for the improvement of services to these victims and studies to fill gaps in current knowledge are being pursued. In addition, Dr. Beh is also active internationally and is a member of the Forensic Advisory Group to the International Committee of the Red Cross. He has also been involved with a Development Project in Jordan for the UNODC. He is on the Editorial Board of numerous forensic journals such as Forensic Science International, Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, Journal of Forensic Science, Medicine & Pathology, Forensic Science Research, Medicine, Science & The Law, etc. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of The International Academy of Legal Medicine.

Dr. Beh is a Co-Director of HKU’s Center for Medical Ethics & Law and Associate Director of the Jockey Club Center for Research and Prevention of Suicide at HKU.

Dr Sai-chak Lai

Dr LAI Sai-chak has worked in the field of Forensic Pathology for over 25 years. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 1991, obtained a Diploma in Medical Jurisprudence (DMJ) (Path) from the Society of Apothecaries of London in 1996, and he has been a Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Pathologists and the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine since 1999. He is a registered Specialist in Forensic Pathology.
​
Dr Lai is currently a Senior Forensic Pathologist of the Forensic Pathology Service (FPS), Department of Health, Hong Kong SAR Government. Dr Lai and his colleagues at the FPS are responsible for providing forensic examination services to sexual assault victims upon referral from the police, on a 24-7 on-call basis throughout the territory.

Day Two
SAT, 2nd June 2018

Mr Peter Duncan SC

Mr Duncan is a Barrister practising in Hong Kong specialising in criminal, disciplinary, and financial regulatory law.
 
He was appointed a Senior Counsel in 2004.
 
Since 2006 he has been the Chairman of the Law Reform’s sub-committee conducting a comprehensive Review of Sexual Offences in Hong Kong.

Justice Kevin Zervos, SC

Justice Kevin Zervos, SC obtained a Bachelor degree in Science (Psychology) and an LL.B. from Monash University, Australia in 1975 and 1977 respectively. He further obtained a Master of Laws (Human Rights) degree from the University of Hong Kong in 2009. He was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia, in 1978. He was registered as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of Australia in 1983, and was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, in 1991. He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 2001 and appointed as Senior Counsel in 2003. He joined the then Attorney General's Chambers as Crown Counsel in 1992. He was promoted to Senior Crown Counsel in 1993, to Deputy Principal Government Counsel in 1999, and to Principal Government Counsel in 2008. He took up the post of Director of Public Prosecutions in 2011. In 2013, he was appointed as Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court.
​
In a 2014 case presided by Mr Zervos, he concluded that with the sensitive nature of sexual offence cases, witness testifying behind screen should be accepted and that will not cause undue prejudice in court. In 2016, the Judiciary has issued a new Practice Directions, effective later that year, that during trials of sexual offences, the victim has a right to request testifying behind screens.

Prof P. Anuruddhi S. Edirisinghe

Professor Edirisinghe obtained her MBBS with second class lower division from North Colombo Medical Faculty in 1995 and commenced a carrier in Forensic Medicine in 2000. She obtained her Diploma in Forensic Medicine, and MD in Forensic Medicine from Post-Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo in 2001 and 2003 becoming the batch top in both exams. She obtained a post-graduate fellowship at the University of Edinburgh in 2004 and completed her specialist training. During her overseas training she obtained Diploma in Medical Jurisprudence from the Society of Apothecaries of London in 2005. After her return from UK, she continued her academic journey as a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya and she gives specialist services as a consultant judicial medical officer to the North Colombo Teaching Hospital Ragama.  She is a founding member of the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of United Kingdom from 2012 and she was promoted as a professor on merit in Forensic Medicine in 2014. From 2017 February she was appointed as the Carder Chair Professor of Forensic Medicine Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya.  She is the first female to be appointed as a carder chair professor of Forensic Medicine in a state university.   
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Professor Edirisinghe has been an active member in the Medico-Legal Society of Sri Lanka, College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka and Indo-Pacific Association of Law, Medicine and Science.  Currently she is a member of the Management Committee of National Police Academy of Sri Lanka and a member of the Prime-minister’s task force of Commission on the prevention of violence against the Woman and Girl Child.   Her recent research work on unnatural female deaths in Sri Lanka led to development of two policy briefs which was launched in March 2018 by the UNFPA Sri Lanka.

Prof Karen Joe Laidler

Professor Karen Joe Laidler has been the Director of the Centre for Criminology since 2010. She teaches sociology of law, criminology, juvenile delinquency, gender and crime, and social theory. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis and was formerly Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii.

Professor Laidler has been involved in juvenile and criminal justice research for over 18 years including a period as Research Associate at the National Council and Crime and Delinquency a leading US non-profit research agency. She has worked on a variety of primary and policy related research including: evaluation of drug intervention programmes; juvenile court intervention; inmate grievance processes; bail reform; sentencing guidelines; risk assessment for juvenile detention; prison planning and classification systems for adult prisons; and drug use problems among methamphetamine users.

​Her current research focuses on drug use problems, domestic violence, juvenile delinquents, and the social history of colonial laws in Hong Kong.

Mr Paul Ho

Mr Ho was called to the Bar of Hong Kong in 2000.  He is a prosecutor of the Prosecutions Division of the Department of Justice and now occupies the post of Senior Assistant Director of the Public Prosecutions (Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions).
 
Mr Ho is the Policy Coordinator of Vulnerable Witnesses Cases and also a member of the Review of Sexual Offences Sub-committee of the Law Reform Commission.

Mr Siu-kei Yau

Mr. YAU Siu-kei, has over 26 years of service in the Police Force. He has a wealth of experience in criminal investigation, international liaison and operational duties. He has been the head of organised crime division in INTERPOL Headquarters, Lyon France for 2 years. One of his current responsibilities is to oversee the formulation and implementation of police policies and procedures relating to family conflict and sexual violence. Mr. YAU holds two bachelor degrees (Arts and LLB) and two master degrees (Public Administration and Terrorism and Security Studies).

Ms Gloria Ng

Ms Gloria Ng is an active member in RainLily VOICES Group, and a survivor of sexual violence. This is the story in her own words:
 
I have experienced sexual assaults in my life. My every first experience was the time I was 11. My cousin touched my private parts and it lasted for more than a year. At that time, I was too young to notice how wrong it was, so I never told anyone, despite my gut feeling told me that it’s wrong.
 
My second experience of sexual assault happened 2 days after my 16th birthday and it was an attempted rape. I told my sister and she insisted  I need to tell my parents what had happened. I did and therefore I ended up in the police station at midnight. I was questioned, challenged in the police station. After being questioned for more than 12 hours, I was so exhausted.
 
And this changed my whole life, I found I hardly believe anyone that will trust my story and I even attempted suicide. I came across a few more indecent assaults later in my university life but I chose not to tell others. At the same time, I tried to convince myself it was just a part of a normal social life in university.
 
What happened in my 16th really twisted my whole moral value about right or wrong. And I used many years to twist back. I hope my sharing can give you some insight on what the society can do for victims of sexual assault.

Ms Ting Ting Wei

Ms Wei is the Founder and Director of Guangzhou Gender Health Education Institute (GGSEC), which conducts gender and sexuality education, training and advocacy activities. By empowering, training and strengthening the capacities of vulnerable groups and activists in the gender and sexuality field, it promotes the growth and advancement of sexual minorities and women, thus striving for gender equality, recognition and protection of the rights of sexual minorities and activist in China.

Ms Wei has been an active activist in sexual minorities, AIDS and gender issue in China, and has worked in Beijing Gender Health Education Institute and Chinese LALA Alliance. She is also a documentary producer and director, her works includes the internationally acclaimed file “We Are Here”, which documented the evolution of lesbian movement in China. Her recent work “Bi China” is on mainland Chinese bi-sexual communities.

Ms Wei received her bachelor and master education in Wuhan University in Sociology and Anthropology.

Dr Ferrick Chu

Dr Chu joined the Equal Opportunities Commission in 1996 and lead a team of officers in the Disability Division to investigate and conciliate complaints. He was involved in developing the Code of Practice on Education and the Code of Practice on Employment issued under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance. He took up the role as the head of policy and research in 2003. With effect from April 2015, he also took up training and consultancy functions.  He was promoted in December 2015 to serve as the Director of Policy, Research and Training. Outside his employment Dr Chu has served as Honorary Consultant of the Hong Kong Epilepsy Association (2003-2013); Member of the Hong Advisory Council on AIDS (2005-2011); Member of the Steering Committee on Mediation (2012-2015); and Member of the Review Committee on Mental Health (2013-2017).

Ms Fiona Nott

Fiona joined The Women's Foundation as CEO in September 2017, combining her senior leadership experience with a passion for TWF's mission to serve marginalised women and girls in Hong Kong. Her responsibilities include strategic planning, donor relations, overseeing grants and programmes, as well as government relations and community outreach. A former lawyer and Hang Seng Index company secretary, Fiona has lived in Hong Kong for nearly two decades having cultivated a career as a senior legal professional and adviser to a number of leading corporations in Hong Kong and around Asia including PCCW, AIA, AIG, Aviva, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery as well as SMEs, start ups and non-profit organisations.

She is the Co-Founder of Room to Read's Hong Kong Chapter and helped establish the Regional Programme office in New Delhi, India. She is Deputy Chair of the Australian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong & Macau and was Founder and Chair of its Women in Business Network. She is also is a Non-Executive Director of Aesop Hong Kong and Taiwan. In 2015, Fiona won the People's Choice Award for the Advancement of Women in Business at the Austcham-Westpac Australia China Business Awards. 
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Fiona holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney and is a Fellow (FCIS) of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, a member of the Law Society of New South Wales, Australia and a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and sits on AICD's Hong Kong Committee.

Dr Kevin Lau

Dr Kevin CH Lau is the Founder & Medical Director of Trinity Medical Centre, a leading provider of one-stop supreme healthcare services located in the heart of Central, Hong Kong.

Dr Lau was born in Hong Kong and received his early education locally and in Canada. He read medicine at the University of Hong Kong and completed his radiology residency training in Hong Kong. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists UK, Hong Kong College of Radiologists and Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. More recently, he earned his Master's in Public Health and Master's in Public Administration, both from The University of Hong Kong.

Dr Lau is an active member of several governmental bodies and currently serves as Non-Official Member of the Women's Commission, a Steering Committee Member of the Child Development Fund, a Member of the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Board, Member of Committee on Promotion of Breastfeeding, Member of Board of Governance of HK Adventist Hospital Foundation and a Member of the Industry Training Advisory Committee (Elderly Care Services).

As a passionate believer in contributing to the community, Dr Lau has also served and worked with charities such as Mother's Choice, Po Leung Kuk Orphanage, Watchdog Early Learning & Development Centre and Kely Support Group.

Dr Trisha Leahy BBS

Dr Trisha Leahy, PhD (Psychology); JD (Law). BBS  is the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Sports Institute, the Government's delivery agent for elite sport systems in Hong Kong.
 
Dr Leahy has long been involved as a front line service provider, research and international policy advisor in recovery from and prevention of sexual violence. She has served on a UNICEF expert panel (2007-2009) advising on global research and policy strategies to prevent violence in sport.  She was also a Member of the International Olympic (IOC) Medical Commission's expert consultative committee on the prevention of abuse and harassment in sport from 2007-2017. Dr Leahy is the Founding Co-chair of Safe Sport International, a global NGO focused on the elimination of abuse in sport.
 
Locally, Dr Leahy is extensively involved in public service, having served/serving as consultant/ advisor to a number of NGO's. She has previously served as the President of the Hong Kong Psychological Society and a Management Committee Member/Academic Advisory Panel/Board member at three local Universities and a secondary school. Dr Leahy was a Board Member of the HKSAR Women's Commission from 2011-2017, and is currently a Board Member of the HKSAR Equal Opportunities Commission, where she is the Convener of the Legal and Complaints Committee.

CME/CPD Accreditation

4 CPD points are accredited by the Law Society of Hong Kong for day two, 2nd June.

​HKAM CME points are accredited for selected sessions for both days: