Protesters' sex abuse claims highlighted at UN meeting

Hong Kong NGOs highlighted the alleged abuse of women during the Occupy Central protests of the last three weeks at a UN meeting in Geneva yesterday.

They also brought up the case of Indonesian helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, whose employer will stand trial on 21 charges in December, as an example of violence against domestic helpers.

The delegation of eight NGOs and one political party was making an oral presentation about women's rights in Hong Kong at the informal meeting with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

"Women's right to participate in the social movement are threatened by violence condoned by police," said Kwok Ka-chai, from the Women's Coalition on Equal Opportunities and the Association for the Advancement of Feminism.

She added: "Numerous female protesters were sexually assaulted and threatened by [counter-protest] thugs, yet some reports show that the police released alleged assailants and were gender-blind when handling female protesters."

The groups, also including the Democratic Party and Human Rights Monitor, called for a "high-level mechanism" in the government to improve anti-discrimination laws.