Hong Kong survivors push to close ‘consent loophole’ in reforms to sex crime laws

Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women and survivor group We Are X say ‘genuine but mistaken belief’ defence must be restricted Hong Kong women’s rights advocates and sexual assault survivors have urged authorities to close a loophole that allows defendants to claim an honest but mistaken belief in consent before a sexual act, warning that it could undermine proposed reforms. The Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women and survivor group We Are X said on Wednesday that the government’s updated stricter definitions of consent should also be extended to this long-standing defence. “If we agree that the defendant has to take steps to ascertain consent, there should be guidelines in the law on what these steps mean. Otherwise, the [proposed safeguard] would be a dead letter,” Chelsea Ma Pik-kwan, vice-chairwoman of the association, said. The Security Bureau this week launched a month-long public consultation on sweeping reforms to Hong Kong’s sexual offences laws, many of which centre on consent. Proposals include a statutory definition, provisions on how consent may be given or withdrawn and a non-exhaustive list of 11 circumstances that would not constitute consent.

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