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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2020-12-06 07:00
Last update date: 2020-12-06 07:00
Members of the Sexual Offences Review Sub-committee under the Law Reform Commission issued a consultation document earlier to listen to the community’s recommendations on the formulation and punishment of sexual offenses in Hong Kong, the treatment and rehabilitation of sex offenders, and the review mechanism for conviction records. opinion.
In the past, the scope of sexual crimes was narrow, resulting in some cases that could not be prosecuted as sexual crimes. The revision of the law on sexual crimes deserves attention.
Regarding the treatment and rehabilitation of sex offenders, in order to better encourage offenders to reform and rehabilitate, the new revised opinions suggest that Hong Kong should refer to the "Incentive Policy Framework" of England and Wales to increase the motivation of sex offenders to change their behavior and strengthen their release. Rehabilitation services for sex offenders include psychological and psychiatric treatment to reduce the rate of recidivism.
Regarding conviction record checking, the new revised plan proposes to extend the sexual conviction record checking mechanism beyond prospective employees so that it can be applied to existing employees, self-employed persons and volunteer workers to strengthen social security.
The "Review of Substantive Sexual Offences" report published by the Law Reform Commission in early December 2019 took a full 13 years to complete.
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It is recommended to clarify the desirable details
More importantly, this amendment expands the scope of the protected population and breaks some old traditional prejudices.
Regarding the definition of rape, the new revised opinions cover almost all forms of assault by penile penetration. Compared with the previous definition of only penile penetration, it can protect more victims.
In the past, male victims could not prosecute the perpetrators for rape. The new regulations protect the rights of men in this respect.
The new revised opinions also made more objective and comprehensive improvements in illegal sexual intercourse with persons under the age of 16, not only including oral behavior, but also using "children" to refer to girls or boys in the past, making them the same. Receive more comprehensive protection.
In short, the new amendments fix the previous deficiencies, and are based on sexual offences in multiple overseas jurisdictions, adding some acts that are not prohibited by corresponding laws in Hong Kong.
However, it is worth noting that among these new content with reference to overseas blueprints, there may be some suggestions that will be slightly "unacceptable" when they first come to Hong Kong and need to be further interpreted to the public.
For example, "Children under 13 years of age engage in sexual activities under the scene" may make many parents who live in Hong Kong be at a loss. Will it violate the regulations?
In addition, although the regulations on illegal sexual intercourse under the age of 16 also protect boys and girls, and cover more violations, under the new recommendations, both parties will be sentenced to sexual acts between children under the age of 16 with consent. responsibility.
The public may be worried about whether any parents or relatives who know the truth about the future of their children choose to conceal it.
The Law Reform Commission recommends secretly filming the sexual crimes listed under the skirt.
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The review of sexual offences started as early as 2006. Until the Law Reform Commission published a report on "Review of Substantive Sexual Offences" in December last year, public consultation has been conducted, which has taken 14 years.
After the public consultation, the recommendations will be submitted to the government, and the Department of Justice will decide whether to legislate, and then enter the lengthy process of drafting, legislative council review and other procedures.
Among the opinions put forward by the Law Reform Commission in the past, the government currently only implements two: the establishment of a "Sexual Offence Conviction Record Check" mechanism and the abolition of the "presumption that boys under 14 are incapable of sexual intercourse."
As for the "crime of voyeurism" and "crime of shooting undercover without consent" proposed by the Law Reform Commission, even though Hong Kong currently lacks regulations on the crime of secret photography and has legislative urgency, it is still in the public consultation stage.
After the consultation document is passed, the government should act as good as possible to initiate legislative and legal revision work as soon as possible.
The review of sexual crimes has been delayed for more than ten years.
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