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EOC expresses concerns about possible sexual harassment incident at local secondary school
In response to media reports that a secondary school teacher allegedly watched pornographic film on his mobile phone during class and accidentally projected the images onto the screen in the classroom, the EOC issued a media statement on 20 May 2022, expressing grave concern about the incident.
The EOC pointed out that the alleged act may be in breach of the provisions on sexual harassment under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO), which defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature directed towards a person, which a reasonable person, having regard to all the circumstances, would have anticipated that the harassed person would be offended, humiliated or intimidated. The definition also includes conduct of a sexual nature that creates a sexually hostile or intimidating environment for another person, such as displaying pornographic photos or videos within eyeshot of other staff or students in the school premises.
EOC Chairperson Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin emphasised that sexual harassment between teaching staff and students, or between students is unlawful. “Schools must take reasonably practicable steps to prevent sexual harassment; otherwise, under certain circumstances, they might be held vicariously liable for the unlawful acts of sexual harassment committed by employees in the course of their employment, even if the schools are not aware of the sexual harassment incidents,” he said. Among the reasonably practicable steps are formulating and promoting a policy on preventing sexual harassment, and organising seminars and training activities to raise the awareness of students, parents, staff, voluntary helpers, contract workers, service providers, agents, etc. on preventing sexual harassment.
Members of the public are urged to contact the EOC if they want to know more about the protection against sexual harassment under the SDO. The Anti-Sexual Harassment Unit of the EOC operates a dedicated hotline (2106 2222) to handle enquiries about sexual harassment. The public may also visit the EOC’s website COMPASS, which offers multiple resources on the subject.
