Latest news with #SexDiscriminationOrdinance
HKFP
30-04-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong trans activist launches new legal challenge over ID card gender policy
A Hong Kong activist behind a landmark lawsuit allowing trans people to be issued ID cards matching their gender identity has launched another legal challenge over the new requirements. In a writ seen by HKFP, Henry Tse's lawyers submitted that the Immigration Department's new policy still requiring 'partial' gender-affirming surgery and ongoing hormone treatments was still unlawful. The activist is also seeking to challenge the government's lack of a legal framework recognising transgender people. In April last year, the government revised rules to make it easier for trans people to amend their ID cards to reflect their gender identity, more than a year after the Court of Final Appeal ruled in a landmark decision that Hong Kong's rules on changing gender on identity documents were unconstitutional. The judicial review brought by Tse two years ago challenged the government's policy barring trans people who had not undergone full surgery from applying to change the gender stated on their ID cards. 'Arbitrary' requirements Hong Kong's trans community generally sees the updated policy only as a partial victory, given that it still requires trans applicants to complete surgeries to alter sexual characteristics, namely removing the breasts or the penis and testes. According to Tse's judicial review application filed on Friday, it is unconstitutional to impose such requirements on trans people who have not received those gender-affirming surgeries. Tse's lawyers also argued that the government had set down different and, therefore, discriminatory surgery requirements for trans men and trans women 'without any reference or consideration as to the function of such organs.' They said that the top court had 'expressly agreed… that it is rare that a person's genitals would be exposed and that most transgender persons would go to great lengths to avoid being placed in a position where they need to expose such areas.' They further argued that the requirement for trans women to effectively undergo sterilisation – a significantly more intrusive procedure compared with the mastectomy required of trans men – amounted to discrimination under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance. The activist is also challenging requirements that trans people declare they will submit medical reports certifying hormone levels within 30 days of a request from authorities and consent to the sharing of blood test reports with the government. The slew of requirements amounts to a violation of the constitutional right to privacy under Hong Kong's Bill of Rights Ordinance, a core tenet cited by the five top court judges who delivered the landmark ruling two years ago, he argued. The Court of Final Appeal said in February 2023 that any incongruities between a trans person's outward appearance and their identity card could elicit doubt and questions involving a 'violation of dignity and invasion of privacy.' In a similar vein, Tse's lawyers argued that the updated policy still amounted to an intrusion upon his private life. The policy would allow authorities to request Tse's medical reports arbitrarily for the rest of his life, 'without any reasonable restrictions, without any safeguards and over an indefinite period of time,' they said. Tse would be unable to foresee the circumstances under which he would be asked to provide a report, 'the results upon which may lead to potential criminal sanction,' they added. 'Such random 'spot checks' without any reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed, cannot be 'in accordance with the law' and each spot check amounts to a significant intrusion into his private life,' the lawyers argued. They also submitted that the medical report requirement had no legitimate aim, saying that Tse's hormone level was one of the most inconsequential factors 'in a basket of others,' such as whether he was living and being accepted as a man in society. According to the Immigration Department, the gender marker on a Hong Kong ID card only serves as an 'identifier' and 'does not represent change of the holder's sex as a matter of law.' Tse is also seeking to challenge the absence of a framework that would legally recognise him as a man, the lack of which would deprive him of family and marriage rights.
HKFP
25-04-2025
- HKFP
Hong Kong's equality watchdog represents female student in sexual harassment case against male classmate
Hong Kong's equality watchdog has initiated legal action in the District Court on behalf of a secondary schoolgirl against her male classmate, accusing him of sexual harassment. 'The Claimant alleged that a male classmate (the Respondent) sexually harassed her on many occasions from Form 2 to Form 4,' the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) said in a statement issued on Thursday. The male student allegedly sent sexually indecent messages to the female student via instant messaging apps and engaged in unwelcome physical contact, the EOC said. Despite the claimant's 'clear, explicit and consistent rejections,' he allegedly continued harassing her and even escalated his conduct. According to the EOC, she found his acts 'offensive and humiliating.' The equality watchdog said in the writ that the two students were classmates from Form 1 to Form 6, but they were not close friends. When they were in Form 2, the male student – now 18 – asked the female student, currently 19, to have sex with him, but she refused, local media outlets reported. Since then, he allegedly started sending her messages like: 'Just sleep with me' and 'Can't you just satisfy me?' When they were in Form 4, he allegedly grabbed the female student's bra strap, pulled her hair, and snatched her backpack. The female student subsequently suffered weight loss and depression, the EOC said. The case remained unresolved despite steps taken by the school and parents to handle the matter, according to the watchdog. 'The EOC also made many attempts to facilitate settlement of the case between the two young people by way of conciliation or negotiation during the investigation and provision of legal assistance stages,' it said. 'Unfortunately, the attempts were unsuccessful in resolving the dispute.' Raising awareness among students The EOC brought the legal proceedings under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, which stipulates that sexual harassment in the field of education is unlawful. Violating the ordinance may lead to civil liability. The claimant is demanding that the defendant pay HK$100,000 for emotional damages and an additional HK$20,000 in punitive or exemplary damages, according to local media. She is also asking the court to order the male student to cease the related behaviour and to provide a written apology. 'By bringing this case to court, the EOC hopes to raise awareness among students, teachers and schools about the importance of combating sexual harassment, which includes unwelcome sexual acts, comments and messages, as well as bullying within the school,' the EOC said. The case also serves as a reminder that sexual harassment among students is unlawful and can lead to serious legal consequences, it added. The EOC received 32 complaints related to sexual harassment in the education sector between 2022 and 2024, representing around 5 per cent of the total sexual harassment complaints received during that period, the watchdog said.
