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Civil remedies against molestation to be extended to same-sex cohabitants
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     The Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2009 will be gazetted on Friday (June 5) and introduced into the Legislative Council on June 17.

     The bill aims to extend the scope of the Domestic Violence Ordinance (DVO) from covering only heterosexual cohabitants to also include same-sex cohabitants so as to provide them with additional civil remedies on top of the current criminal legislative framework.

     The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, reiterated that the proposed amendments ¡§will not affect the Government¡¦s policy stance of not recognising same sex marriage, civil partnership or any same sex relationship as a matter of legal status, nor will it involve or affect other existing legislation¡¨.

     Mr Cheung said, ¡§Noting that the intimate relationship between same-sex cohabitants may entail similar special power interface, dynamics and risk factors as in the relationship between heterosexual cohabitants, and that violence incidents can quickly escalate into life-threatening situations or even fatality, we propose to extend the scope of the DVO from covering only heterosexual cohabitants to include also same-sex cohabitants.¡¨

     The Legislative Council (Legco) Panel on Welfare Services was consulted on the legislative proposal last December.  Two special meetings were convened subsequently in which nearly 100 deputations and 45 individuals attended to express their views.

     "After careful and thorough consideration of the views of Legco members and different quarters of our community, we have adopted a three-pronged approach in preparing the proposed legislative amendments to address the concerns of religious and parent groups," he said.

     First, a new definition of "cohabitation relationship" devoid of any references to "marriage", "spouse" or "husband and wife" will be introduced.  Specifically, we propose to define it as a "relationship between two persons who live together as a couple in an intimate relationship" and include such a relationship that has come to an end.  

     Second, some structural changes will be made to clearly delineate the three categories of protected persons that are under its coverage, namely spouses, former spouses and their children; persons in immediate or extended familial relationships; and cohabitants, former cohabitants and their children.

     "Such arrangements aim at removing the concern over the treatment of cohabitation relationship as equivalent to marriage," Mr Cheung explained.

     Third, the short title of the DVO will be amended to read as "Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Violence Ordinance". This is to highlight that the amended DVO is also applicable to persons in cohabitation relationships, that victims of "domestic violence" and "cohabitation relationships violence" alike will be afforded protection under the new law and that "domestic violence" and "cohabitation relationships violence" are two different categories with no inter-relationship.

     "The bill represents the Government's best endeavour in reaching a viable solution acceptable to all. We have struck a reasonable and pragmatic balance in addressing the concerns of the related groups," Mr Cheung said.

     The DVO, enacted in 1986, provides civil remedies in the form of injunctions to protect people in spousal relationships and in heterosexual cohabitation relationships and their children against molestation by the other party to such a relationship.  

     The Government last August extended the scope of the DVO to include former spouses, former heterosexual cohabitants and other immediate and extended family members.

Ends/Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:30

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