Hong Kong's official rape statistics vastly lower than grim reality
As much as 90 per cent of sexual assault cases go unreported, a women's group finds
Government data on rape and sexual assaults in Hong Kong do not reflect a much bleaker reality, a survey has found.
In fact, most offenses go unreported because victims feel ashamed or fear condemnation. One-fourth of these also happen within marriage.
For several years, A-Yuk kept her marital nightmares to herself.
"My husband had an affair with another woman, and he even brought her home to sleep on our bed. He beat me, threw my clothes out of the window and forced me to leave," she said.
Yuk is 62, has high blood pressure and has previously had a stroke. As a new immigrant from mainland China, she had no one else to depend on in Hong Kong, and she chose not to fight back. She started living at a neighbourhood park.
"I slept in the park for a week without showering. When curious park-goers asked, I just told them I was just hanging around and exercising. You simply don't go around telling people [about the abuses]. I'm old. It's too shameful," she said.
Yuk eventually sought help from social workers, got a divorce and moved to a transitory shelter home for women. But other female victims of physical and sexual abuse are largely invisible to the public eye, and often are under the radar of social policymakers.
