On 31 January 2020, the Government gazetted the Sex Discrimination (Amendment) Bill 2020. The Bill seeks to amend the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) to provide protection from harassment for breastfeeding women, and has been scheduled for First and Second Reading at the Legislative Council on 12 February 2020.

The EOC welcomes the gazettal of the Bill, which addresses views expressed by lawmakers and the community during scrutiny of the Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2018. The latter took forward recommendations in the EOC’s 2016 report under the Discrimination Law Review and proposed, among seven other amendments, to revise the SDO to expressly prohibit discrimination on the grounds of breastfeeding. By further outlawing acts of harassment, the EOC believes that the new Bill will strengthen legal safeguards for the right to breastfeed, and help empower women to nourish their children without fear and intimidation.

• Read the Government’s press release
• Read the Bill