Various trends are pointing towards a future where more and more Hongkongers will assume the role of a carer: our rapidly ageing population, earlier diagnoses of learning difficulties among children, multiple studies showing people hitting new lows in mental health... In the past year, the burden on carers has been further exacerbated by a still-untamed pandemic that sees children stuck at home, elders experiencing heightened isolation, and rehabilitation services getting suspended or slimmed down.

For many, the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (FSDO) is the law that springs to mind when talking about legal protection for carers against discriminatory treatment. While the FSDO serves as an important safeguard for those looking after an immediate family member, the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, perhaps less apparently, can provide another avenue of redress in some situations. Released last month, the Spring 2021 issue of the EOC magazine Equality Perspectives opens with an explainer of these laws and how they apply to the scenarios carers may encounter.

But this is just one part of the picture. Anti-discrimination laws alone cannot prevent even the most patient and loving carer from burning out from stress. We have all heard them before – heart-rending news of embattled carers being pushed to the brink of sanity, killing someone in the family under their care, and finally ending their own lives. There are cracks in the city’s current carer policy that need urgent fixing. Is it right, for instance, for carer allowance schemes to assume all Disability Allowance recipients aren’t “fit and proper” carers and exclude them from applying? What lessons can be drawn from overseas jurisdictions where eligible carers are entitled in law to a period of respite care services every year? How can we make better use of data to ensure policies are more humane and tailored to the needs of carers as a diverse group? These are some of the questions we address in our second article.

The magazine has been made available for download on the EOC website, while an abridged version was distributed as an insertion in Sky Post on 29 March 2021. For details, please click the link below.

• Read the magazine