Understanding Gender-based Violence of Girls of South Asian Ethnic Groups in Hong Kong Survey Report 《香港少數族裔少女對於性別暴力知識與觀念硏究報告》
According to the 2011 Hong Kong Population Census, ethnic minority groups constituted a total population of 451,138. Leaving out Indonesian and Filipino population who are mostly domestic helpers, the major ethnic groups residing in Hong Kong would be Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese. According to the 2016 Hong Kong Population By-Census, the above-mentioned groups have a total population of 76,073, whereas there were 63,176 in 2011. There was 20% increase in the above-mentioned groups when it is compared with 2011.
In this research, we will only focus on studying Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese ethnic groups in Hong Kong for the purpose of advocating to the Government to formulate policy for ethnic minority communities, as they face most challenges in terms of economic and social integration and their population were steadily increasing in the past five years.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is “an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will, and that is based on socially ascribed (gender) differences between males and females” 1. GBV is one of the greatest challenges that the whole world is facing. Globally, GBV is the leading cause of death of women between the ages of 19 and 44.
The number of reported GBV cases is far below the reality. Due to various cultural, social, religious and economic factors, especially the poverty situation of ethnic minorities’ communities , women and girls of South Asian ethnic groups in Hong Kong were exposed to higher risk of GBV than that of local women and girls.
In view of the seriousness of sexual violence faced by the groups, RainLily started a project entitled “WE Stand” that provides education programs and support services to female migrant workers and women and girls from ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong from 2012.
This study report, “Understanding Gender-based Violence of Girls of South Asian Ethnic Groups in Hong Kong”, aims at gaining more knowledge about the understanding of and experiences on GBV of the girls of ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong as well as their help seeking tendency.
Based on the findings and discussion, the following recommendations are proposed for combating GBV as well as strengthening supports to the girls of ethnic minority groups who have encountered GBV in Hong Kong:
1) provide gender education in schools and communities;
2) as arranged marriage is a common cultural practice in South Asian communities, there is a need to construct a supportive and friendly environment for the ethnic groups to exercise free choice;
3) render cultural and gender sensitivity training to police and service providers;
4) set up specialized teams for handling GBV for ethnic minority groups;
5) provide more resources to conduct further study to enhance our understanding of the risk of GBV.
性別暴力 (Gender-based violence, GBV) 是指基於性別差異，違背一個人的意願造成的任何傷害行為的總括定義 。性別暴力是全球面臨的最大挑戰之一。根據亞洲基金會的數字，性別暴力是19至44 歲女性的最大死亡原因。