Combatting Image Based Abuse in Hong Kong

New communication technologies have created opportunities to create, discover, gather and share information. This has enabled new forms of image based abuse that violate a person’s sexual autonomy, privacy and dignity. At present there has not been a comprehensive study of how cases involving image based abuse could be, are being and should be dealt with in the criminal justice system in Hong Kong. Available information suggests that the current responses in the criminal justice system are not appropriate to meet the harms presented by image based abuse. Hong Kong has no specific laws to address image based abuse. Until 2019 some of these behaviours were prosecuted under s. 161 of the Crimes Ordinance Cap. 200 (access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent). However, in Secretary for Justice v Cheng Ka Yee [2019] HKCFA 9 the Court of Final Appeal closed the door on using this offence in most cases. Immediately following this decision, the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong published a report recommending new offences to criminalise voyeurism (using a device to view a person's private parts or a person engaging in a private act) and upskirting (recording images of a person's private parts). This report did not consider the need to criminalise other related image abuse behaviours, such as ‘revenge pornography’ (non-consensual distribution of intimate images). There is therefore a gap in existing law and in reform recommendations. This project will fill these gaps by investigating how image based abuse behaviours could, are and should be dealt with in the criminal justice system in Hong Kong. Research of legal databases will reveal what offences are available for responding to image based abuse and what evidence there is that the offences have been used. A quantitative survey will be conducted with stakeholders (solicitors, barristers, members of the magistracy and judiciary and victim support and advocacy groups) to find out whether and how these cases are dealt with in practice. Qualitative interviews with stakeholders will provide deeper and richer context to the survey responses. This research will reveal what types of behaviour have been subject to prosecution, for what offences and under what circumstances. Finally, based on these findings, a comparative review of legal responses in other jurisdictions and feedback from stakeholders, suggestions for reform in Hong Kong will be advanced to prevent such behaviours, better protect victims of image based abuse and benefit Hong Kong Society.