It’s Time We Talk About Gender-Based Violence Against Hong Kong Protestors

Since February 2019, the mass demonstrations roiling Hong Kong have been consistently met with police brutality. But sexual and gender-based violence has flown under the radar in most mainstream coverage of the protests. It is time for the international community to heed the call of Hong Kong-based activists and hold the government to account for this human rights crisis.

The unrest began when Hong Kong’s government proposed legislation that would allow extraditions to mainland China, which critics argue would allow for anyone in the city to be picked up and detained — including political activists — and essentially erode Hong Kong’s independence from the mainland.

Shortly thereafter, hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens (in some cases almost 2 million) took to the streets to protest. The government responded to these largely peaceful protests with widespread, severe police brutality. As a consequence of the government’s disproportionate response, the protests blossomed from the narrow goal of opposing the extradition bill into much wider demandsfor police accountability and democracy.

The protests have seen unprecedented participation by young women. This rise in female participation is shattering existing gender normsand empowering a new generation of women activists. However, the protests have also been mired by sexual and gender-based violence against young women by the police. Police have deployed sexual violence against female protestors on a scale not yet fully known, but initial studies and reportingindicate that sexual and gender-based violence is being used as a systemic instrument of intimidation.

An 18-year-old woman alleged that she was gang-raped inside a police stationby four masked men. As a consequence of the incident, she sought an abortion. Attorneys for the police attempted to obtain her medical records without her consent in order to discredit her.

Sonia Ng, a university student, was arrested at a protest. She told a press conference that a police officer hit her breasts while she was detained. Ng was the first to accuse Hong Kong police of sexual assault using her real name.

Yet another young woman was subjected to a humiliating strip search. Two female police officers forced her to remove her clothes, hitting her hands away when she attempted to cover her genitals. One officer made her open her legs wider by hitting her thighs with a pen. The officers then opened a door to expose her to a group of 10 male police officers.

These incidents have spun into additional protests, notably a large “#ProtestToo” rally, drawing on the #MeToo movement.

Investigations into Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) misconduct is carried out by the police force itself through the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO). While CAPO is technically overseen by the Independent Police Complaint Council, it has only advisory and oversight functions and thus lacks powers needed to carry out legitimate investigations or implement change.

A coalition of three Hong Kong-based organizations — joined by 67 international signatory organizations to date — have launched a campaign addressed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women requesting that she examine sexual violence committed by HKPF during the protests, visit Hong Kong to examine the seriousness of the issue, and urge Hong Kong to establish an Independent Commission of Inquiry into police brutality.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution appointing a Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women in 1994. The Commission acknowledged that “violence against women constitutes a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women.” The Special Rapporteur’s job involves seeking information on violence against women, conducting country visits, and recommending measures at the local, national, regional and international levels.

Sexual violence in the Hong Kong protests is a clear form of violence that impairs and nullifies the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women in a variety of ways, most obviously women’s rights to freedom of speech and assembly (both of which are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

When domestic legal systems fail to enforce human rights, the international community must step up. Doing so is a sign that the international system is working. We are supposed to hold each other accountable for misconduct when nations fall short of their human rights obligations.

On Human Rights Day, and during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women must do what the international legal system is built for: holding nations accountable. She must heed the requests of Hong Kong protestors for independent investigations of the state-sponsored sexual violence carried out by HKPF. It is time to demonstrate through concrete action that the international community will not tolerate human rights violations against women.

Hannah Kohn is a legal intern at the Global Justice Center and a student at the City University of New York School of Law where she is obtaining her J.D.