bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Joanna Chiu

Hong Kong's laws on human trafficking are too narrow and fragmented to protect victims, says a report published today.
It says the city's focus on trafficking for prostitution means it is failing to address the wider problem of forced labour.
The report, by the Justice Centre Hong Kong and Liberty Asia, says the government should broaden its definition of trafficking and pass comprehensive new laws to stamp out the practice.
"As an important regional hub and both a destination and transit territory for human trafficking, Hong Kong is failing to fully comply with the minimum standards for [its] elimination," it says.
The report comes as the trial of the employer accused of abusing domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih is set to resume.
Public concern over the abuse of helpers has increased after claims that three Indonesian maids were abused by the same employer. Another helper alleges abuse by another employer.
Report co-author Victoria Wisniewski Otero said: "Recent cases of abuse against helpers should raise warning flags because they bear many hallmarks of forced labour, such as contractual deception, excessive agencies fees leading to debt bondage, the retention of passports and physical or sexual violence."
Figures show that between January and July last year, 2,172 foreign domestic workers were granted visa extensions to resolve legal disputes with employers or agencies, but not a single case of trafficking for forced labour was identified by the Hong Kong authorities, the report says.
And despite a record number of complaints against recruitment agencies last year, the Labour Department revoked the licences of just four out of more than 1,200 operating in the city.
"Clearly, victims are slipping through the net and perpetrators are able to operate unhindered," the report says.
Unlike Macau and Taiwan, Hong Kong has no comprehensive anti-human-trafficking law, relying instead on several measures to deal with the problem - the Crimes Ordinance, Immigration Ordinance and the Offences Against the Person Ordinance.
A Security Bureau spokesman said the penalties contained in the ordinances - with maximum jail sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment - were "sufficiently stringent".
The Department of Justice amended the Prosecution Code last September to define "human exploitation cases" to cover activities that demean the value of human life, covering cases such as sexual exploitation, enforced labour, domestic servitude, debt bondage and organ harvesting, the spokesman added.
But the report says that as the amendment is not backed up by legislation, there is little likelihood of cases being prosecuted.
"There is no one piece of legislation that is robust enough," said co-author Archana Sinha Kotecha, Head of Legal at Liberty Asia.
"Scattered legislation over different ordinances creates little appetite to address the full scope of trafficking for forced labour in Hong Kong,” she said. 
Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok told a meeting of Legco last month that the existing legislation provides a "solid framework" on trafficking.
But the US State Department ranked the city's efforts to stamp out human trafficking on a par with those in Congo and Serbia.
Campaigners say trafficking for forced labour constitutes about 68 per cent of total human trafficking and generates illicit profits globally of US$32 billion.
The International Labour Organisation says nearly 21 million people are victims of forced labour worldwide, with 11.7 million in the Asia-Pacific region.
The new report's authors say no estimate is available of how much of that trafficking either comes to Hong Kong or passes through it because trafficking for forced labour is not adequately monitored.


After baby massage saved her from postnatal depression, mother holds Hong Kong classes

Hong Kong’s underpaid foreign domestic workers deserve a living wage

Hong Kong’s Bethune House puts out call for help

Filipino helpers earn US$1,340 per month in South Korea. In Hong Kong? US$642 minimum

Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong

Report slams Hong Kong for 'narrow, fragmented laws' that fail to stop human trafficking

Helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih

Indonesian helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih expresses her hope that her case would prevent future abuse of domestic helpers. Photo: AFP

News

Hong Kong

Damning report says city is failing to comply with minimum standards and calls for action on forced labour and laws to protect victims


Hong Kong's laws on human trafficking are too narrow and fragmented to protect victims, says a report published today. It says the city's focus on trafficking for prostitution means it is failing to address the wider problem of forced labour.


Erwiana Sulistyaningsih