EOC Chairperson Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin attended a meeting of the Legislative Council Panel on Constitutional Affairs on 16 May 2022 to brief the Panel on the Commission’s work in 2021-22 and its key focuses for 2022-23.

In 2021-22 the city remained under the shadow of COVID-19, with the EOC receiving 160 enquiries and 34 complaints concerning the epidemic, and 236 enquiries and 26 complaints relating to vaccination. In total, the EOC handled 1 266 complaints under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance, and the Race Discrimination Ordinance. Over 67% of these were employment-related.

Beyond law enforcement, the EOC continued to conduct policy research and advocacy in 2021-22, addressing issues ranging from image-based sexual violence and representation of women on boards to HIV destigmatisation and support for non-Chinese-speaking students.

The Commission also invested in a stronger presence on social media with encouraging returns. Its Instagram profile “平.常.事 EO Matters”, launched in September 2021, had reached over 685 000 people by the end of March 2022 with an eclectic mix of content, including fun facts, event recommendations and true stories about members of underrepresented communities.

Moving into 2022-23, the EOC will adhere to its three-pronged approach – encompassing law enforcement, prevention and education – in promoting diversity and inclusion (D&I) in Hong Kong. Some of its key focuses include advocating universal design, researching on sexuality education reform to raise awareness against sexual harassment among the younger generation, and encouraging more employers to exchange their knowledge and experience in creating culturally inclusive workplaces as signatories of the EOC Racial D&I Charter.

• Read the EOC’s submission to the Legislative Council