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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Justice, Ms Elsie Leung at the Annual Gender Role Workshop 1999: "Protect Myself and My Children: Say No to Sexual Violence" today (Saturday):

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to be invited by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong to attend this workshop, and to speak on the topic of "Protect Myself and My Children: Say No to Sexual Violence".

Conflicts between the genders and violence to women are, notwithstanding the cultural differences, common to eastern and western societies. Causes of the problems are manifold, including, for example, the traditional social status of women, the difference in physical strength of men and women, their different views on sexual activities, their perception of the roles in marriages and their different financial capabilites.

Crimes of sexual violence may be divided broadly into two categories, namely those committed by strangers and those committed by people known to the victim, such as family members, relatives or neighbours. The latter category usually involves more complicated issues and more conflicts.

The number of reported sexual violence cases is usually less than the number of cases actually committed. This is believed to be even more so in the case of sexual abuse of children of a family.

The reactions of women sexually abused by their spouses are affected by a number of factors. It is most common for them to hope that an abuse is a one-off behavioural disorder, or to attribute it to some inadequacy or wrong on their part. Some of them may regard the abuse as a disgrace that should be kept within the family. Some may fear that their marriage will break down if a report is made to the police. Some may worry about the financial consequences and some may find it difficult to face their relatives. It gets even more complicated in cases of sexual abuse of children. If the culprit is the breadwinner of the family and if he is convicted, the most typical worry is that the principal source of income for the family will be lost.

The above reactions are very common among victims of sexual violence. There is as yet no single effective solution to the problem. The main stream approach is to disseminate anti-sexual violence messages through continual education, to let the wrongdoers know that their conduct is improper and to make victims realise that they should not blame themselves for, or feel ashamed of, the abuse and to encourage them to report the abuse to the police to protect themselves or their children from further abuses. Naturally, law enforcement agents need to be trained professionally to handle these cases with care and empathy for the victims, and to provide comprehensive and practical services, to ensure that victims are well looked after.

I understand that some victims may think that the support and legal protection currently provided by the government and the law are insufficient. I remember from another occasion, a victim said that the one saying her husband often repeated was, "The police are not here, I can beat you to death before they arrive." It is not easy for any law to have a deterrent effect vis-a-vis a person who has no regard for the law in any event. The law cannot provide immediate, on the spot, protection for anyone facing imminent abuse. Nevertheless, in the long term and for the well-being of our community, legislation is essential for deterring and penalizing crimes of sexual violence. To legislate is to send a strong message against sexual violence, to indicate that neither the community nor the government would condone such behaviour and to deter such behaviour. Legislation also lays down clear guidelines and provides for a mechanism for law enforcement agents to tackle these cases quickly and effectively.

I am sorry and regret that immediate protection for individual victims may not be possible at the time it is most needed, and this increases my awareness of the necessity to work even harder to strengthen education against sexual violence and to amend the law to provide better protection for people vulnerable to abuses.

Current law

Some of Hong Kong's current laws deal specifically with sexual offences. Some are for crime prevention while others stipulate the standard of behaviour and the content of information to be disseminated, so as to broadcast the message that violence is not acceptable.

Crimes Ordinance

The Ordinance has been amended to incorporate the sexual offences and other related offences under the now repealed Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance and to provide for stiffer penalties for some of the offences. In particular, the maximum term of imprisonment for committing incest with a girl between the age of 13 and 16 has been increased from seven to 20 years.

Offences against the Person Ordinance

The Ordinance provides for crimes such as homicide, assault, child abuse, forcible taking or detention of a person and illegal abortion.

Domestic Violence Ordinance

The object of the Ordinance is to offer protection against domestic violence. The molested party may apply for an order from the court restraining the other party from molesting the applicant and any child living with the applicant, or from entering the matrimonial home.

Child Abduction and Custody Ordinance

The Ordinance came into operation on 1 July 1997. It gives effect in Hong Kong to the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction signed at The Hague on 25 October 1980. The Ordinance, on the face of it, seems to have no connection with sexual violence, but in reality sexual violence often constitutes one of the reasons why many women leave the matrimonial home together with their children.

Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance and Film Censorship Ordinance

The objects of these Ordinances are to control the distribution and transmission of articles which consist of or contain material that is obscene or indecent (including material that is violent, depraved or repulsive). Pornographic publications and films are also subject to control. Although it might be considered that freedom of expression and artistic independence would be undermined, such control is really part of the balancing exercise necessary for our society. The themes of a lot of pornographic material revolve around sexual violence and, still more inaccurately and unacceptably, women are often depicted as enjoying such violence. Some academics consider that pornography is fundamentally a reflection of an unhealthy attitude towards sex and women.

I would now turn to the new bills that the Administration has introduced in respect of sexual offences.

During the 1998-99 session, the Administration introduced into the Legislative Council three bills to combat sexual offences.

Prevention of Child Pornography Bill

The object of the Bill is to prohibit child pornography. Severe penalties shall be imposed on any person or institution that makes, passes on or distributes child pornography.

Apart from the children who have suffered in the production of child pornography, other children are deceived or misled by adults making use of such pornography into believing that the behaviour depicted is normal and acceptable. As a result, they may be lured to participate in similar activities without resistance. Child pornography may also incite adults to attempt the subject kind of sexual offences. The Administration therefore introduced the Bill into the Legislative Council, to deal with these problems.

Crimes (Amendment) Bill 1999

The object of the Bill is to prohibit the advertising of child sex tours.

The Administration considers that unlawful sexual acts with children should not be encouraged or facilitated, whether in Hong Kong or overseas, and that offenders should be heavily punished.

Evidence (Amendment) Bill 1999

There are rules in the existing law which, upon application, may be deemed to be unfair towards women. These rules are called the the corroboration rules in sexual offence cases. Although these rules are equally applicable to male victims, it is matter of common knowledge that victims of sexual offences are mostly women. Therefore, these rules affect women more.

What are the corroboration rules? In simplified terms, the corroboration rules provide that evidence by a single witness is not sufficient, and that other independent evidence tending to incriminate the accused is needed before the accused can be convicted.

Corroboration rules used to be applicable to evidence given by children; co-defendants and victims of sexual offences. They are now only applicable to evidence given by sexual offence victims.

The application of these rules to sexual offence victims evolved from some conventional views on women held by society. It was considered, for example, that women may allege sexual abuse for reasons of jealousy, remorse or because they have been abandoned. It has also been said that women are more nervous and moody so they are less trustworthy. Even in as late as 1993, a judge in Sydney, Australia, said, "When a woman says 'no', she may well be saying 'yes'." This is blatant prejudice. The fact that accusations of sexual offences are easy to make but difficult to rebut is also viewed as an underlying danger.

The Administration is of the view that the yardstick or rules for admissibility of witness evidence should not differ on account of the nature of the crime. The Evidence (Amendment) Bill has therefore been introduced to remove this different treatment.

Initiatives under Consideration

In May 1998, the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission published a consultation paper on stalking, in order to consult the community on whether it is necessary to legislate against stalking. Although stalking is not limited to family or sexual violence, women and their children may frequently be stalked by ex-spouses or separated spouses. Stalking may result in sexual violence or in less serious cases, cause stress or harm to the stalked.

It is often difficult for child victims to recall the exact date of abuse, the number of times of abuse and details of each abuse. Therefore, if the abuse took place a long time ago or if there were multiple abuses over a long period of time, it is difficult to secure a conviction under the existing evidence rules. The Administration is considering whether the law should be amended to provide that a person can be convicted of "persistent sexual abuse of a child" as long as the prosecution can prove that a child has been sexually abused thrice or more than thrice during a specified period of time. It will not be necessary to prove each and every specific occasion of the alleged sexual abuses.

The considerations of the proposals are still at a very preliminary stage. Whether the proposals are necessary and feasible, and the method of implementation, still await study.

Conclusion

As I have mentioned earlier, the causes of crimes of sexual violence are numerous and the problem cannot be eradicated with one stroke. The government will deal with the problem step by step. Our chances of success will be increased by the support and co-operation of social organizations and institutions.

Thank you.

End/Saturday, October 23, 1999

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