The Equal Opportunities Commission wants to settle rows as quickly as possible instead of helping victims win justice, it was claimed yesterday.
A coalition of nine women's groups accused the commission of failing to do its job well during the past two years.
The commission had even set up hurdles and discouraged victims from lodging complaints and seeking justice, feminists said. 'Investigators from the commission always encourage victims to list their terms of conciliation,' coalition representative Lam Wai-ha said.
'Some even hinted the victims would lose their chance of getting compensation if they did not do so. We agree some disputes can be resolved through conciliation. But we believe the victims are free to decide.
'Some really want to see justice done and the discriminators punished instead of getting compensation only.' Ms Lam said the group was angry that the commission acted only after receiving complaints.
'The commission has been functioning for two years. We believe that is long enough for the commission to become mature,' she said. 'But its performance is still not very satisfactory and has room for improvement.' The commission was not available for comment.