Hong Kong churches warned over ‘systemic’ flaws in handling sexual harassment

Hong Kong churches are being urged to improve their handling of sexual harassment complaints following a survey by the Hong Kong Christian Council’s Gender Justice Ministry. The survey revealed that spiritual leaders have mishandled complaints, including downplaying incidents, and identified at least 69 victims of sexual harassment over the past two decades, some of whom were minors at the time of the incidents. These findings were released on Monday, coinciding with a public consultation on reforms to sexual offenses laws. The council's call aims to better protect church members by broadening the implementation of anti-sexual harassment policies.