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Why our schools must add 'rights' to the three Rs

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It is widely acknowledged that foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong are often ill-treated, but what do we do to change this? Enacting new laws or banishing discriminatory ones is a good start to changing the behaviour of society, and our labour laws already provide a firm foundation for the equal treatment of employees.

Perhaps, then, Hong Kong needs to start with the fundamentals, namely education.

Educating children about basic human rights would give them an early start on forming ideas of what treatment is right and wrong. It would give them the chance to break the cycle of violence that is the basis of many relationships between employers and helpers in Hong Kong.

Furthermore, this 'basic training' could permeate other areas of a child's life, helping them build healthy, productive and functional relationships in all aspects of their lives.

Understanding other cultures and respecting and working with people of different ethnic backgrounds is a vital skill in an increasingly globalised economy. Much of the ill-treatment helpers suffer is based on racism. And children are often the abusers.

In many cases, the children of the employer continue the abuse against the helper when the employer is absent.

Violence and abuse is a learned behaviour and children need to be taught that this is wrong.

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