Media

Research Shows a Majority of People in Hong Kong Support Gay and Lesbian Couples’ Rights

03 Jan 2014

A new report issued by the Centre for Comparative and Public Law shows that a majority of the Hong Kong public supports granting rights to same-sex couples. Only 27% of the public completely agreed that same-sex couples should be permitted to marry, and 12% somewhat agreed. However, 74% of the public supported granting same-sex couples either all or some of the rights that heterosexual couples enjoy. For example, 65% of the public favoured allowing same-sex couples to visit each other in the hospital during hours restricted to family members (20% were neutral); 61% agreed that same-sex couples should be protected from housing discrimination (17% were neutral); 66% favoured permitting gays and lesbians to sue for the wrongful death of their same-sex partners in cases of fatal accidents (18% were neutral); and 55% agreed that same-sex partners should inherit property from each other (23% were neutral).

This study of public opinion was led by Kelley Loper from the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, Holning Lau from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and Charles Lau from RTI International. They designed the study and commissioned the Social Sciences Research Centre (SSRC) at the University of Hong Kong to conduct a telephone survey of a random sample of 410 Hong Kong residents.

Holning Lau notes that “in other parts of the world, governments have conferred rights upon gay and lesbian couples without legalising same-sex marriage. Our findings suggest that there is public support for exploring such policy options in Hong Kong”.

Kelley Loper observes: “in Hong Kong, the government presently provides virtually no legal recognition to same-sex couples. Although the development of human rights protections should not be contingent on public opinion, our survey results indicate that there is ample public support for extending rights to committed same-sex couples, short of legalizing same-sex marriage”.

The English version of the report is available at: http://www.hku.hk/f/upload/17691/Public_Attitudes_towards_Gays_and_Lesbians_2014.pdf

Please direct questions to Kelley Loper (kloper@hku.hk, 9523 6278) or Holning Lau (hslau@email.unc.edu).