The Government appointed six new members to the Board of the EOC on 18 May. They are:
 

The EOC warmly welcomes the new Members to the EOC family. We are certain their expertise, insight and experience will benefit the Commission and help steer its work to a new level.
 
Meanwhile, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Members again for their guidance and support during their tenure, and to congratulate the re-appointed Members. The EOC Board is a diverse, vibrant team and we will continue to promote the message of diversity and equality to society at large while striving to eliminate discrimination.

The award-winning local film Mad World made mental illness a trendy topic when it was released in Hong Kong. Film critics and columnists rushed to write about the motion picture, and those in the medical and social welfare professions highlighted the real challenges facing Hong Kong’s mental health care system. EOC Chairperson Professor Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming also contributed to the discussion in this regard with a fairly substantial article in the South China Morning Post, published on 15 May. To show how urgently the problem needs to be addressed, Prof Chan put side by side the striking number of people thought to have mental illness in the city, the growing number of psychiatric patients using public health services, and the lack of medical manpower and comprehensive, sustainable Government-led health care policies. In addition to urging for quick actions from the Government, Prof Chan appealed to members of the community to look out for one another and be more supportive of people suffering from mental health problems. After all, a kinder, more inclusive community is altogether better for our mental well-being.

Following the groundbreaking court case which ruled in favour of the civil servant demanding for spousal benefits for his partner in same-sex marriage recognised elsewhere, supporters of LGBTI rights in Hong Kong, along with those in other cities, celebrated International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, or more commonly known as IDAHOT, on 17 May.

Earlier, EOC Chairperson Professor Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming spoke on RTHK Radio One’s Letter to Hong Kong programme about the implication of the said court case. He then further highlighted LGBTI issues in Hong Kong with two articles in his am730 column and Hong Kong Free Press respectively. He suggested that with many other developed societies working harder to protect the rights of sexual minorities, Hong Kong must catch up on this front or will otherwise suffer a loss of talent. Although the EOC has no legal power over marriage issues, we believe Hong Kong cannot avoid the discussion on same-sex marriage. We also stand firm in supporting the passing of legislation to defend LGBTI individuals from discrimination and harassment in public domains.

After millions of years of evolution, human beings have learned to cook meat with fire, navigate at sea, cure diseases, and build a virtual network where they can shop, chat and access all kinds of information in front of a screen. But old habits and thinking die hard, and despite the rising status of women over the years, many people still cannot quite rid themselves of various fixated ideas about women (and men as well).

Every day, we are inundated with stereotypes, often without even being aware of them. In a bid to bust gender stereotypes, particularly those that objectify women, The Women’s Foundation (TWF) launched a campaign called “She Objects” in the summer of 2016, the centrepiece of which was a documentary of the same name. The documentary was widely featured and shown in some of the most well-known international film festivals, including Cannes and Mumbai. In fact, it received just this month the Scientific & Education Award at the 2017 Nice International Film Festival, in which it was also nominated for Best Cinematography in a Documentary.
 
TWF has recently arranged screenings of the acclaimed documentary for the EOC staff and student ambassadors of the Jockey Club Equal Opportunities Drama Project to raise a red flag about the influence of the traditional and social media, the Internet, and our peers on our perception of gender roles. Su-mei THOMPSON, CEO of TWF and former EOC Board member, also joined others, including Linda WONG, Executive Director, RainLily; Mabel AU, Director, Amnesty International Hong Kong; and Amoy ONG, Executive Director, Her Fund Ltd in a panel discussion after the film screening at the EOC on 18 May.

At the core, the seemingly unreachable standard of beauty, the sexualisation of women, and the distorted value of money in relation to femininity are causes of violence and harassment of women. It is time to object to the objectification of women and humans in general and appreciate the fact that humans are cut out to be diverse and different.