34% of women sexually harassed at work in Hong Kong but few take action: survey

One-third of women in Hong Kong have been sexually harassed in the workplace over the past three years but most of them do nothing about it fearing it will affect their job or because they have accepted it as the norm, a survey has found.

Lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pei-fan, whose party jointly carried out the survey, said on Sunday that the issue of workplace harassment in Hong Kong appeared not to have improved in decades.

“We’ve been discussing this issue of workplace sexual harassment for more than … 20 years already, and the media has been reporting on such matters constantly over the years,” she said.

“But not many companies, not enough of them, actually take action to protect women.”

She said organisations that committed themselves to ESG, or “environmental, social and governance”, responsibilities often overlooked the aspect of workplace sexual harassment.

ESG is a set of operational standards for companies that investors use to screen potential investments.