I refer to your report of February 26, on the legislative review of the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) and the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) conducted by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).
In the report it was stated that 'the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force gave preference in recruitment to the widows of police officers'. This is incorrect.
One of our recommendations is to repeal the exemption relevant to the preferential treatment given to unmarried widows of officers of good characters, as provided by regulations relating to the granting of gratuities to dependents of officers who die or receive injuries in the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force. The EOC believes that benefits payable to widows of officers should not be based on their 'remaining unmarried and of good character' as compared to widows who remarry.
This amounts to discrimination on the ground of marital status.
However, this item is exempted under the SDO and, as such, widows of officers who have remarried and received less favourable treatment have no avenue of redress.
The EOC recommends that this exemption relating to benefits payable to widows of officers should be removed.
