Violence against women, particularly new arrivals from the mainland, featured as a major concern for the third consecutive year in the State Department report.
The report cited figures from the Society for Community Organisation estimating that tens of thousands of women were 'regularly subjected to the threat of violence, abuse, robbery and sexual harassment by persons they live with'.
It noted demands by the Hong Kong Federation of Women's Centres for measures to help women arriving from the mainland.
Federation director Chan Yu said new arrivals faced widespread social exclusion and discrimination in all aspects of life. She said employers often paid them less than others on the basis of their poor Cantonese pronunciation or lack of fluency in the dialect.
The report also noted that while a law existed to protect victims of domestic violence, sentences were generally lenient. It cited sexual harassment, alimony payments and employment discrimination as major concerns.
Also mentioned was the Inland Revenue Department's review of the tax exempt status of the Hong Kong Women's Christian Council, a group vocal in its protests against the reinterpretation of the Basic Law in the right-of-abode saga. 'Human rights groups noted that the Government was not reviewing the tax-exempt status of pro-Government NGOs that participated in similar public activities tangential to their main purpose,' it said.
