The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) released today (6 August 2024) the findings of the Study on Breastfeeding at Publicly Accessible Premises in Hong Kong. The Study found that 81% of the interview survey respondents, who had breastfed or expressed milk, believed that more breastfeeding or milk expressing facilities are needed in public places. Some respondents also expressed that existing facilities were inadequate, with inconsistent quality, unsanitary conditions and long waiting times. The Study recommends the Government to consider providing more incentives for premises to establish breastfeeding facilities. Revision to the Practice Note on “Provision of Babycare Rooms and Lactation Rooms in Commercial Buildings” issued by the Buildings Department is also recommended to encourage commercial buildings to provide more than one babycare and lactation room (BLR), as a way of relieving the shortage.

Ms Linda LAM Mei-sau, Chairperson of the EOC, said, “Since 2021, breastfeeding women are protected from discrimination and harassment under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO). The Study was commissioned to evaluate the level of understanding of relevant provisions in the SDO among breastfeeding women, collect information on the prevalence and experiences of breastfeeding in publicly accessible premises, as well as assess the state of breastfeeding facilities in shopping centres and government premises.”

Ms Lam continued, “Riding on the World Breastfeeding Week, which falls on the first week of August each year and carries the theme ‘Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All’ this year, the EOC hopes that the Study findings can raise awareness across different sectors on the state of breastfeeding facilities in Hong Kong. We are delighted that the Study has been included by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action as one of the activities echoing the World Breastfeeding Week 2024, which affirms the EOC’s efforts in promoting a breastfeeding-friendly environment.”

The Study adopted a mixed-method approach, including face-to-face interviews, online surveys and focus group discussions with women who had breastfed or expressed milk. An access audit of shopping malls and government premises to evaluate the provision and quality of the babycare and lactation facilities was another part of the Study. In addition, the Study collected views from representatives of property developers and property management companies through individual interviews.

Dr Ferrick CHU Chung-man, Executive Director (Operations) of the EOC said at the press conference, “The Study findings show that the majority of breastfeeding respondents were aware of the provisions related to breastfeeding under the SDO. Yet their experiences of breastfeeding in public places needed improvement. Many were dissatisfied with the conditions of breastfeeding facilities, such as insufficient BLRs, long waiting times, small room sizes and poor hygiene. The conditions of these facilities will directly affect whether women choose to breastfeed or express milk in public places, and may even become barriers to breastfeeding.”

Understanding of the provisions on breastfeeding under the SDO

According to the Study findings, more than four-fifths of the survey respondents (82.9%) claimed that they knew about the SDO and more than two-thirds of the survey respondents (69.0%) claimed that they knew about the provisions on breastfeeding under the SDO. Most of the breastfeeding respondents in the focus group discussions were aware of the provisions of the SDO although they might not know about the details. As for the property management company and property developer respondents, they displayed varying degrees of awareness regarding the provisions of the SDO.

Experience of breastfeeding in publicly accessible premises 

The majority of respondents (87.4%) believed that shopping centres should provide more breastfeeding or expressing facilities. An overwhelming majority of the breastfeeding women in focus group discussions confirmed this observation, stating that public places such as shopping malls and government premises frequented by families, including libraries, parks, beaches and sports venues, should provide more breastfeeding facilities.

Moreover, the majority of respondents (81.9%) suggested that both commercial and government premises should improve the hygiene standards of their breastfeeding and expressing facilities. Most of the breastfeeding respondents in the focus group discussions expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the breastfeeding facilities. Common problems included inadequate availability (especially in older malls and government premises), inconsistent quality of BLRs, long queues during peak times, unfavourable positioning of facilities in some shopping centres, small rooms, improper usage by non-babycare or breastfeeding users, lack of separation between lactation and diaper changing areas, poor lighting and hygiene issues.

Findings of access audit of babycare and lactation facilities in shopping malls and government premises 

The research team conducted access audit of 50 shopping centres and 50 government premises in Hong Kong to assess the provision and quality of the babycare and lactation facilities. It found that 10 shopping centres and 8 government premises did not provide BLRs. Almost all of these establishments were established in 2000 or before. In addition, the babycare areas in 52.5% of the shopping centres and 38.1% of the government premises did not comply with the suggested size as stipulated in the Practice Note on “Provision of Babycare Rooms and Lactation Rooms in Commercial Buildings”.

Besides the small size, the audit found that 14.6% of the BLRs were located inside restrooms. Over half (53.7%) of those babycare areas in the shopping centres and government premises had directional signs and symbols that hinted at gender stereotyping of caring duties. In around half (52.4%) of the shopping centres and government premises, non-users could easily see the interior of the BLR when the door was open, leaving users with a lack of privacy. Furthermore, 54.9% of the babycare areas in government premises and shopping malls had doors that “require fingers or effort to enter”, which did not comply with universal design principles. Such designs are particularly inconvenient for some people with disabilities, as well as caregivers carrying babies or large amounts of items.

Recommendations

The Study puts forwards a series of recommendations for the Government, property developers, property management companies, employers and employees. Regarding the recommendations on providing incentives for establishing breastfeeding facilities, the Government should consider requiring an appropriate and even distribution of breastfeeding facilities per a defined unit of area as a prerequisite for receiving gross floor area ratio concessions. This requirement could be added to the existing BEAM Plus certification and fulfilment of Sustainable Building Design Guidelines. The Study also advises the Government to revise the Practice Note on “Provision of Babycare Rooms and Lactation Rooms in Commercial Buildings” to address the service gaps. In order to increase the quantity of such facilities, the Buildings Department may revise the Practice Note and encourage the provision of more than one BLR in commercial buildings. On improving quality, the Government should clearly set out the technical standards for universal design-compliant doors and locks. The revised Practice Note should be incorporated into the all-in-one design manual promulgated by the Government in the 2023 Policy Address. 

Apart from the Government, property developers are advised to include spacious and well-equipped BLRs in the design phase of new shopping malls. For existing shopping malls, developers should plan to expand the babycare and lactation areas, create new BLRs or designate some mobile BLRs to alleviate long queues during peak periods and summer holidays. Property management companies could work with app developers to develop electronic queuing apps to allow users to check the usage of BLRs.

Dr Chu said, “In addition to reviewing the state of breastfeeding facilities in public places and the areas that need improvement, the Study also identified other barriers to breastfeeding, including pressure from supervisors and colleagues, a lack of understanding and empathy for the needs of breastfeeding women, as well as being refused, verbally harassed, and receiving unfriendly looks when breastfeeding or expressing milk in public places.” Dr Chu continued: “To establish a breastfeeding-friendly environment, the support of employers and employees is essential, in addition to improving the facilities. Employers are encouraged to proactively adopt flexible policies that allow breastfeeding or expressing milk during working hours. Employers and employees should follow the guide and booklet developed by the Department of Health and the EOC to establish a breastfeeding-friendly workplace and integrate these policies into company protocols.”

Ms Lam concluded, “Breastfeeding is not just a mother’s responsibility. It also affects the growth and development of the next generation. Therefore, all sectors of society have a duty to create a favourable environment for breastfeeding mothers. Through the World Breastfeeding Week, I hope that everyone can support breastfeeding mothers, whether in the workplace or in public places, with appropriate facilities, and give them more understanding and tolerance. This would allow them to feed their children in safe and comfortable environments without discrimination or harassment.”

Visit the link below for more details on the findings and recommendations of the Study: https://www.eoc.org.hk/en/policy-advocacy-and-research/research-reports/2024-1.

If members of the public wish to further understand how the SDO provides protection against discrimination and harassment of breastfeeding women, and how to establish a breastfeeding-friendly workplace, please refer to the guidelines and pamphlets published by the EOC via the following link: https://www.eoc.org.hk/en/discrimination-laws/sex-discrimination-laws.

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Equal Opportunities Commission
6 August 2024

Dr Ferrick CHU Chung-man, Executive Director (Operations) (centre) and Ms Doris TSUI Ue-ting, Head (Policy, Research and Training) of the EOC (left), and Mr CHUNG Kwok-kuen, Director of Aristo Market Research & Consulting Company Limited (right) present the findings of the Study at the press conference.