In celebration of World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August) and as a refresher about the breastfeeding-related amendments to the Sex Discrimination Ordinance that took effect in June last year, the EOC recently rolled out a cross-platform awareness campaign this month, encompassing MTR ads, a roving promotional truck and social media content.

Protections against breastfeeding discrimination and harassment under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) took effect on 19 June 2021 and apply to key areas of public life, including employment; education; provision of goods, facilities and services; and others. To remind members of the public of these recent legislative amendments, the EOC is displaying posters at 60 MTR stations until 18 August 2022.

The poster depicts three scenarios involving potentially unlawful acts under the SDO: a restaurant customer being asked by the waiter to leave while breastfeeding a child; a female employee being denied her bonus by her supervisor because she pumps milk during working hours; and a visitor in a shopping mall being told by the security guard that breastfeeding in public is indecent and that she needs to stop.

In addition, as part of its Community Participation Funding Programme, the EOC funded NGO Flash Action to organise a mobile truck roadshow across ten districts in Hong Kong from 4-15 August 2022. With the help of videos, flyers and interactive games, passers-by were invited to learn about the benefits of breastfeeding, as well as how individuals and organisations could work together to create a friendly environment for breastfeeding women.

The EOC also published a post about the updates to the law on Instagram and Facebook, reaching over 150 000 users and attracting more than 2 200 interactions, including likes, saves and shares. 

• Learn more about how the law protects breastfeeding women in the workplace
• Learn how service providers can better support breastfeeding customers