Hong Kong sexual offences amendment bill to be gazetted Friday, tabled in LegCo on 25 November

Hong Kong's Security Bureau announced on Wednesday (11 November) that the Sexual Offences Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2026 will be gazetted on Friday (13 November) and introduced to the Legislative Council for first and second readings on 25 November, with the aim of completing the legislation within the current government's term.

Better protection for victims and a modernised law

The amendment has two main objectives: strengthening protection for victims of sexual offences, and modernising the sexual offences legislation. It covers non-consensual sexual offences, sexual offences involving children and mentally incapacitated persons, other miscellaneous sexual offences, and enhanced protection for victims.

More than 90% of submissions backed the reform

The reform follows recommendations from the Law Reform Commission and draws on developments in other major common-law jurisdictions. The government consulted the Legislative Council's Panel on Security on 7 July and won its support, then ran a one-month public consultation from 7 July to 5 August, receiving more than 6,000 submissions, over 90% of which supported the amendment. The bill would define "consent" in legislation for the first time.

(File photo: the Legislative Council Complex in Hong Kong.)