Symposium on Sexual Violence in Asia

Co-organised by Centre for Criminology, HKU, HKU Sociology, The School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong and RainLily, the Symposium on Sexual Violence in Asia was held on the 1st and 2nd of June at the University of Hong Kong. The first day of the symposium themed on one-stop sexual violence victims interventions service and had invited representative from UN Women to give an overview introduction of their work and the situation of gender-based violence in the region, the lead author of the WHO’s ‘Guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence’ to talk about the best practice on management of victims of sexual violence. We have also invited sexual violence intervention service providers from UK, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Taiwan to introduce their model of service. With a focus on legal and advocacy, the second day of the symposium explored the protection for victims of sexual violence. The Law Reform Commission's Review of Sexual Offences Sub-committee introduced their completed and ongoing consultation works, and other speakers provided their insights in changes in courtroom for sexual violence victims, reform in Sri Lanka, corporate responses to creating a respectful and productive workspace, and the EOC’s work in prevention of sexual harassment. We also get to hear a sharing from a survivor on her story, and a gender activist from China to talk about the empowerment in Mainland. We are very grateful for the support from HKIAFS Foundation to the symposium and all the attendees for coming to the event. Through the in-depth exchanges and sharings from different regions and sectors, we wish to improve our services and strengthen our advocacy work on hospital-based one-stop crisis intervention services for victims of sexual violence.

Symposium Website: www.svinasia.com