On 15 April 2020, the EOC issued legal proceedings under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) in the District Court on behalf of a minor (the Claimant), who is represented by his father.

The Claimant is a patient of Tourette syndrome. His symptoms include motor tics, i.e. involuntary movements of the body. The Claimant’s main allegations are that the four Respondents, who were his classmates at the material time, had harassed him on account of his disabilities. The Respondents often mimicked his motor tics and made insulting verbal remarks about them in front of other students.

Under the DDO, harassment refers to any unwelcome conduct on account of a person’s disability where it can be reasonably anticipated that the person would be offended, humiliated or intimidated, such as insulting remarks and offensive jokes about a person’s disability. It is unlawful for a student of an education establishment to harass a person with a disability who is also a student of that establishment.

Students with disabilities often face harassment and bullying at school. By taking this case to court, the EOC hopes to raise public awareness of the DDO’s protections for students with disabilities from disability harassment in education establishments, and to remind the public that disability harassment is unlawful.

• Read the press release
• Read the Code of Practice on Education under the DDO