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Current Affairs

Hong Kong proposes sweeping overhaul of sex crime laws

Hong Kong authorities have proposed a major overhaul of outdated sexual offences laws, including criminalising same-sex rape, introducing new offences and establishing a uniform age…

By Samantha Johnson / June 29, 2026

Hong Kong authorities have proposed a major overhaul of outdated sexual offences laws, including criminalising same-sex rape, introducing new offences and establishing a uniform age of consent at 16 while removing gender-specific provisions and increasing penalties.

In a 59-page consultation paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Monday, the Security Bureau proposed a series of measures to strengthen protection for minors and mentally incapacitated people from sexual exploitation and abuse.

The government said the review was necessary to modernise sexual offence laws, two decades after the Law Reform Commission (LRC) set up a subcommittee in 2006 to examine the issue.

Eight proposed new crimes involving minors under 16 would target non-consensual sexual offences, abuse of vulnerable groups such as children, and offences of a preparatory nature aimed at early prevention of sexual exploitation.

In the document, the bureau proposed creating a new offence of having sex with a child under 16, regardless of gender, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Under existing law, sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment but if the victim is under 16, the maximum jail term is five years.

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