HONG KONG - Survivors of sexual violence and advocacy groups in Hong Kong said on July 8 that the government’s proposed amendment of its decades-old sexual offences legislation contained “glaring flaws” in several areas, including that of consent.

The government opened a one-month public consultation on its proposals this week, seeking to reform laws that remain rooted in the city’s British colonial era and are similar to those enacted in England in 1956.

The authorities have admitted current laws are “outdated”, and have vowed to “modernise” them and strengthen protection for victims.

The city’s Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women (ACSVAW) told a news conference on Wednesday that the proposals “contain glaring flaws”.

The draft reforms include the introduction of three new non-consensual sexual offences to the criminal code, and stricter penalties for rape convictions.

A statutory definition of consent would be established, including a “non-exhaustive list” of situations where a victim is deemed not to have consented.

The proposed changes still allow for defendants to invoke “mistaken belief”, under which they can argue they believed they had obtained consent, ACSVAW’s executive director Doris Chong said.

“This may perpetuate the current system, under which defendants can avoid conviction simply by claiming a ‘misunderstanding’,” said Chong.

ACSVAW recommends that Hong Kong instead introduce statutory restrictions on “mistaken belief”, for example if a defendant did not take active steps to ascertain consent.

Chelsea Ma, a former practising barrister now with ACSVAW, said that if there were “no truly effective restrictions... in the end, all efforts could come to naught”.

Security Secretary Chris Tang told lawmakers on July 7 that the proposed laws require that “the defend...