LettersWhy Hong Kong must strengthen its sex offender laws

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Harsher penalties for voyeurism and taking upskirt photographs without consent are among the recommendations made by a panel of legal advisers. Photo: SCMP

Published: 2:10pm, 22 Nov 2020Updated: 2:10pm, 22 Nov 2020

Recently, a panel of legal advisers called for stronger penalties to deter sex offenders and for the expansion of a background check programme for employees working with vulnerable groups. I fully support these suggestions.

Hong Kong has seen a slew of sexual offence cases this month, from policemen being arrested for raping a woman to a minority rights activist pleading guilty to charges of gross indecency in a case involving two underage girls.

Raising the maximum penalty to 14 years in prison for the sexual assault of children aged under 13 and teenagers under 16 will help combat child sexual abuse, which can cause severe psychological trauma in addition to physical injury. Given that children are the most vulnerable group in society, stricter laws are a good first step but better sex education would also be helpful.

Moreover, I agree with the panel’s proposal that sexual exposure and taking upskirt photographs should be criminalised and incur strong penalties. So far, offenders have only been imprisoned for a few weeks or ordered to perform community service, and there is no specific legislation to tackle these practices.

Given that it is not clear psychiatric treatment would be effective in rehabilitating sexual offenders unless they have a willingness to change, it does not seem wise to for the government to spend a huge amount of money on this. However, it is vital to enable companies to check the backgrounds of potential employees for jobs that involve close contact with the vulnerable, such as teachers or caretakers.