Chao: AL disregards public opinion on sex assault bill

Jason Chao

The New Macau Association (ANM) issued a statement last week saying that they are disappointed by the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) neglect of public opinion concerning the defeat of the proposed law to criminalize sexual harassment.
The bill, which opposed indecent assault, officially known as “Amendment to the Criminal Code,” was presented to the AL by lawmakers Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San in October after a draft was delivered to the two former ANM legislators earlier in the year.
According to lawmaker Ng, the proposed bill aimed to put an end to impunity for acts of sexual harassment that may not be regarded as sexual assault. Such incidents are treated as cases of injury, where victims must engage their own lawyers.
The proposals outlined in the bill sought to revise the chapter on sex crimes in the criminal code by criminalizing the offence.  However, this proposed revision was defeated last week in the Legislative Assembly (see box).
Jason Chao of ANM wrote in a statement that the failure to pass the bill will condemn “victims of sexual harassment to inadequate legal protection against the [sexual] predators for months, perhaps years, to come.”
The number of reports of incidents of sexual harassment have been on the rise in Macau over the past few years. In February last year, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture announced his shock over the number of sexual harassment cases that allegedly involved faculty members at the University of Macau.
The president of the ANM, Chao, said that the bill’s defeat in spite of overwhelming public support as articulated at a public consultation meeting in March 2015 represented a deliberate disregard for public opinion.

al defeats bill

Lawmakers defeated a bill submitted by lawmakers Ng and Au to criminalize sexual harassment, with eight votes in favor, five abstentions, and 16 votes against. Several lawmakers voted against the bill on the basis that the government is already pending a public consultation to review the entire criminal code.