Hong Kong authorities have proposed a major overhaul of sexual offences laws. The measures include criminalising same-sex rape and setting a uniform age of consent at 16.
Hong Kong authorities have proposed a major overhaul of outdated sexual offences laws. The changes would criminalise same-sex rape, remove gender-specific provisions and increase penalties.
The Security Bureau put forward eight new crimes involving minors under 16. These target non-consensual acts, abuse of children and preparatory offences to prevent sexual exploitation.
A new offence of having sex with a child under 16, regardless of gender, would carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The government said the review was needed to modernise the laws, two decades after the Law Reform Commission set up a subcommittee in 2006.
Under existing rules, sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 carries life imprisonment, but the maximum term falls to five years if the victim is under 16.