Hong Kong to legislate against persistent child sexual abuse and ‘cyberflashing’

Hong Kong authorities have said they will legislate against persistent sexual abuse of children and the act of sending images of genitals to others online without consent after consulting the public.

In a consultation report published on Thursday, the Security Bureau stated that with the city’s two professional legal associations expressing broad support for a dedicated law targeting persistent child sexual abuse, the government would include the crime in an amendment bill overhauling sex offence laws.

“In advancing this proposal, the government will study relevant laws in other jurisdictions so as to formulate targeted laws to address perpetrators’ persistent sexual abuse against children, while upholding the principles of presumption of innocence and fair trial,” the bureau wrote.