Following the EOC’s recent release of a territory-wide study on sexual harassment of university students in Hong Kong, Prof Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming, Chairperson of the EOC, published an article in Hong Kong Economic Journal, Stand News and South China Morning Post, spelling out the prevalence of the problem as well as its root causes.

Almost one in four students (23 per cent) were reportedly harassed on-campus, off-campus and/or online within the 12 months prior to the study, but Prof Chan pointed out that the issue ran deeper: “Schools in Hong Kong either treat sex as a taboo subject or limit classroom discussions to its biological aspects. As we made clear in a recent submission to the Education Bureau, such an approach is out of touch with reality. As adults, we all know that sex is much more than reproduction and birth control methods; it raises questions of what pleasure and intimacy mean, why we should respect others’ bodies and feelings... Clearly, we need a more robust curriculum at primary and secondary schools geared towards instilling the values of gender equality.”

The study indeed revealed warped conceptions of sex, gender biases and a lack of empathy towards minority groups among university students. Examples include perpetrators misinterpreting consent (believing, for example, that “no means yes”), bystanders remaining silent or even blaming the victim, women being objectified, men assumed to be immune from harassment and LGBTI students and those with disabilities subject to higher rates of sexual harassment.

The EOC is lining up meetings with top officials of the nine universities to discuss implementation of the 17 recommendations in the study’s report, from requiring each department and residential hall to assign a “gender focal point” to advise colleagues on complaint handling to arranging compulsory training for all freshmen and leveraging more modern forms of educational content, such as bite-sized videos on social media. Prof Chan stressed, “The last thing I want to see is society using our study as fodder to stigmatise university students. The problem is systemic, and our responsibility collective.”

Read Prof Chan’s article
Read the executive summary of the study
Read the report in full
Access EOC's anti-sexual harassment resources

Aimed at firing up local youths’ creativity and commitment  to promoting equal opportunity, the EOC launched the “Generation i” initiative last year to invite secondary school students to submit comic strips and short videos themed around diversity and inclusion. The shortlisted entries are now online for public voting. Works that receive the greatest number of “likes” will win the the “Most Popular Entry on Facebook” award, with cash prizes of HK$3,000 and HK$2,000 respectively for the Short Video Division and the Comics Division.

Online voting lasts until 20 February 2019. To participate, please like the “Generation i” Facebook page and then pick your favourite entry. A vote will only be valid if the voter has already liked the Facebook page. Each voter can vote for a maximum of 5 entries in each division, but voting for the same entry more than once is not allowed.

Click the links below and show your support for the creative vision of the younger generation!

Take a look at the shortlisted comic strips
Watch the shortlisted videos
Like the “Generation i” Facebook page

The EOC has been awarded the 5 Years Plus Caring Organization Logo for another year by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. It is a testament to our continuous commitment to caring for the community, employees and the environment. The EOC will continue to contribute actively to Hong Kong society and the well-being of its dynamic team through volunteer and fund-raising activities, environmental protection measures, as well as staff training and assistance programmes.

About the Caring Company Scheme

On 25 January 2019, the biggest taxi supplier in Hong Kong announced the introduction of Comfort Hybrid Taxi, a new model of wheelchair-accessible taxi (WAT). Nearly 1,000 new taxis are expected to hit the road by the end of 2019.

While the EOC appreciates the move as a step forward in enhancing the accessibility of public transport for persons with disabilities (PWDs), some PWDs have raised a very legitimate concern. For a wheelchair user to get on the taxi, it may take up to 15 minutes to operate the folding ramp. This is likely to deter drivers from picking up wheelchair users in the first place, thus defeating the purpose of the initiative. In view of this, the EOC Chairperson, Prof Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming wrote to the Secretary for Transport and Housing recently.

As Prof Chan wrote in an article published in am730 on 6 February 2019, the Government may consider reviewing subsidy schemes in Sydney and providing similar incentives to cover the extra time costs for drivers to pick up wheelchair users. This was indeed one of the recommendations in the EOC’s 2018 report on the “Study on Taxi Accessibility of Hong Kong”, which served as a preliminiary review of the accessibility of taxis in Hong Kong within the context of Government policies and regulations. The Government is also recommended to provide training for pre-service and existing drivers on a regular basis to raise awarenesss of the anti-discrimination laws and remove attitudinal barriers for PWDs accessing the public transport system. For more details on the study, please click the link below.

Read Prof Chan’s article (Chinese only)
Read the report of the study