Women's rights advocates and sexual assault survivors in Hong Kong have called for restrictions on a legal defence that allows defendants to claim an honest but mistaken belief in consent. The appeal comes as the government begins a public consultation on broader reforms to sexual offence laws.
The Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women and survivor group We Are X made the request on Wednesday. They argued that the government's updated definitions of consent must also limit the long-standing defence to prevent it from weakening the proposed changes.
Chelsea Ma Pik-kwan, vice-chairwoman of the association, said guidelines are needed on steps defendants must take to ascertain consent. Without them, she warned, the safeguard would be a dead letter.
The Security Bureau launched a month-long public consultation this week. Proposals include a statutory definition of consent, rules on how it may be given or withdrawn, and a list of 11 circumstances that would not constitute consent, such as when a victim does not communicate agreement or is mistaken about the nature of the act.