Group pushes for LGBT domestic violence protection

Jason Chao and Anthony Lam

Local LGBT advocacy group Rainbow of Macau has launched a “One-people, one-postcard” campaign to push for same-sex couples to be protected by future domestic violence legislation.
Director-general Anthony Lam and spokesperson Jason Chao handed a petition to the government headquarters yesterday addressed to the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Florinda Chan, to mark the announcement of the campaign. Jason Chao said that starting today, people can download a postcard template from the Rainbow of Macau website. Residents can then print out the postcard and write their demands on it regarding the domestic violence legislation before posting it to the Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice. He said that this is to allow LGBT people to express their opinion without worrying about their identities being exposed.
Anthony Lam added that they hope to appeal the issue directly to Florinda Chan through this campaign, so that she can bring forward their demand to the Executive Council and relevant officials.
Currently, the domestic violence legislation is still in the drafting process. The government has not indicated that the protection of same-sex couples will be included in the draft. The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) director Iong Kong Io claimed at the beginning of October that the drafting process is in its final stage and the bureau will strive to submit the bill to the Legislative Assembly (AL) for discussion within the year.
Jason Chao said that one of the reasons government officials argued against the inclusion of same-sex relationships in the domestic violence legislation is that it may conflict with the part of the Macau Civil Code in regards to marriage.
However, the activist has used the domestic violence legislation in Portugal as an example, claiming that while same-sex marriage in Portugal was only legalized in 2010, the country’s domestic violence law that included same-sex partnership had already been passed in 2007. Since Macau’s legal system is very similar to Portugal’s, Chao said that Macau should be able to follow suit.