By James Lee

Copyright hongkongfp

An NGO has urged the Hong Kong government to reform its “outdated” rape laws after the city’s leader announced in the Policy Address that legislative amendments on sexual offences would be completed within his tenure.

In a Wednesday statement issued hours after Chief Executive John Lee’s speech, the Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women (ACSVAW), also known as RainLily, made four recommendations clarifying the legal definition of consent and introducing a new offence of “persistent sexual abuse,” including for child victims.

RainLily recommended that the government clearly specify in the statutory definition of consent that the absence of resistance does not constitute consent, and establish a list of circumstances that cannot reasonably be regarded as constituting consent.

It also recommended establishing a limit on the defence that one “honestly but mistakenly” believed that the victim had consented. A new offence for persistent sexual abuse, including that of a child, should also be introduced, said the NGO.

See also: Legal loopholes in Hong Kong’s justice system fail victims of sexual violence, advocates say

A supplement in Lee’s Policy Address states that the Security Bureau aims to complete legislative amendments within the current term of government, which ends in June 2027.

The bureau will ”actively study” reports published by the Law Reform Commission to improve the laws on sexual offences, “thereby better protecting children and persons with mental impairment,” the supplement said.

Since the statutory definition of rape was introduced into the Crimes Ordinance in 1978, Hong Kong has not updated its rape laws to incorporate affirmative consent, lagging behind other common law jurisdictions such as England, Scotland, Canada, and Australia.

Affirmative consent

On Monday, two days before Lee delivered his policy blueprint, RainLily released a position paper advocating for “affirmative consent” principles to be embodied in legislation and for the creation of a new offence for persistent child sexual abuse.

“Sexual offences reform must embody the principle of affirmative consent. This would fundamentally dismantle the notion that a victim must ‘strenuously resist’ to be considered as ’not consenting,’” said RainLily executive director Doris Chong.

The NGO’s statement on Wednesday also pointed to research findings that 70 per cent of survivors of sexual violence experienced “tonic immobility” when they were assaulted.

Amendments should also explicitly account for circumstances in which the victim has never personally expressed consent, or if sexual acts are obtained through an abuse of trust or authority, or non-forceful threats, Chong said.

Such reforms would also prevent perpetrators from evading responsibility with “absurd excuses” that they had mistakenly believed they had obtained consent, she added.

“With just over 650 days left before the end of the current term of the Government, this is an urgent and important commitment,” RainLily said on Wednesday, urging the government to implement “comprehensive and up-to-date” reforms.

With the progress of the Security Bureau’s public consultation on the legislative reforms remaining unclear, there is “no room for complacency in updating Hong Kong’s outdated sexual offences,” it said.