We urge you to respond to the Security Bureau’s public consultation on their recommendations for reforming the sexual offence laws so that every voice is heard. Email to sexualoffences@sb.gov.hk before August 5th.
If you do not have time to write a full submission, you may use ours as a template. It was jointly created by Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women (ACSVAW), Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights (HKCCR), Plan International Hong Kong, and TALK Hong Kong.
TALK Hong Kong, our charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse and supporting survivors in Hong Kong. Our organisation has had the privilege of working closely with dozens of adult survivors of Persistent Child Sexual Abuse (PCSA) in Hong Kong – our Founder Taura Edgar is a survivor herself. It is from this firsthand experience that we wish to share our deep concerns regarding the immense systemic and cognitive barriers child witnesses face within the judicial process.
First, we warmly welcome the long-awaited progress made in the Security Bureau’s proposed improved sexual offence laws announced on 7 July 2026. We strongly support key elements such as the statutory definition of consent, gender neutrality, the addition of a grooming offence, and more unified maximum sentencing. However, critical gaps remain in the protection of children.
Our extensive work with survivors shows that testifying in court under the current legal framework is often a biologically impossible task that actively inflicts secondary trauma. Under existing rules, survivors are expected to recall the exact dates, frequency, and meticulous details of what are often long, repeated series of abuses spanning years. Modern neuroscience and trauma research demonstrate that severe, repetitive trauma naturally fragments memory. When defense barristers aggressively and lengthily cross-examine vulnerable child witnesses on these details, it does not uncover the truth; instead, it exploits natural, trauma-induced memory gaps to paint honest survivors as unreliable. The resulting secondary trauma can cause children to withdraw or refuse to testify altogether. Indeed, of the many adult survivors we work with, only a few have ever reported their abuse to the authorities at all.
To address these systemic failures, we urgently recommend the following:
- Creating a New Offence of “Persistent Child Sexual Abuse” (PCSA): We propose establishing a discrete offence modeled after common law jurisdictions like Australia. Instead of requiring the compartmentalised proof of many isolated acts, this offence focuses on proving the continuous pattern of an abusive relationship between an adult and a child. This aligns the legal framework with how human memory actually processes trauma.
- Implementing Courtroom Practice Directions: We urge the judiciary to establish strict Practice Directions for child sexual abuse cases, such as setting mandatory time limits on cross-examinations, requiring the court to vet defense questions in advance, and regulating the language used to prevent aggressive or intimidating tactics.
You may also refer to our original Joint Position Paper—launched with the Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women (ACSVAW), the Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights (HKCCR), and Plan International Hong Kong—which has been supported by 32 Hong Kong organisations and child protection professionals. The paper outlines our further recommendations on protecting 16-to-17-year-olds under “abuse of position of trust” rules, adjusting penalties by the victim’s age, and introducing a “close-in-age” defence for mutually accepted peer interactions to ensure teenagers are not deterred from seeking sexual health or crisis support.
For your reference here is the Government’s proposal for public consultation in Chinese and in English.