09-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘Better to be a dog': Hong Kong lawmakers call for women-only areas on transport
Lawmakers have criticised the government's reluctance to introduce women-only areas on trains and buses in Hong Kong, questioning why they are not given the same privileges as those within the special travel scheme made for pets.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung dismissed the idea of establishing designated zones for either sex on Hong Kong's public transport system during a Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday, citing potential disruption to operations.
In response to a question from lawmaker Lam San-keung, who enquired about setting up such zones to prevent sexual harassment, Tang said that compartments exclusive to either sex would present challenges to passenger flow management on train services.
He added that implementing such zones on buses was not viable due to the small size of bus carriages, which would affect boarding and alighting efficiency.
According to Tang, the police received 141 reports of sexual assaults or indecent filming on public transport premises, such as compartments and stations, in the first five months of this year.
This accounted for 14 per cent of all cases reported in such locations. The number of sex-related police reports on public transport premises increased by more than 100 cases in 2022 to 374, compared to the previous year. The figure rose to 383 in 2023 before decreasing to 360 last year.
