[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

HONG KONG (Tier 2) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of Hong Kong does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.  The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Hong Kong was upgraded to Tier 2.  These efforts included increasing investigations and prosecutions of traffickers; identifying more trafficking victims; designating a cyber hotline for Hong Kong victims and community members to receive information or request help regarding overseas employment scams; and increasing public awareness of overseas employment scams to individuals traveling from Hong Kong to Southeast Asia.  However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas.  It did not convict any labor traffickers for the fourth consecutive year and issued inadequate penalties to defendants convicted for sex-trafficking related crimes.  Foreign domestic workers remained at high risk of trafficking, and authorities did not take adequate measures to protect them and prevent trafficking.  Victim identification efforts and services remained inadequate.  The government did not identify any victims from foreign domestic workers or individuals in commercial sex, despite screening these groups for trafficking indicators.  The government allowed employers and labor recruiters to charge recruitment fees to migrant workers, and it did not adequately enforce limits on such fees, passport retention, and other practices that increase trafficking risks.  Authorities likely penalized trafficking victims through arrest and deportation for immigration and commercial sex offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked.  The government did not fully criminalize all forms of trafficking.

Prioritized Recommendations

Improve the quality of screenings conducted to identify trafficking victims, increasingly screen individuals in commercial sex and foreign domestic workers for trafficking, and ensure children exploited in commercial sex are identified as trafficking victims and referred to services. 

Cease penalization of victims for immigration offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked. 

Enact legislation that criminalizes all forms of trafficking consistent with the definition set forth in the 2000 UN TIP Protocol. 

Ensure authorities offer and refer trafficking victims to services. 

Vigorously investigate and prosecute suspected sex and labor traffickers and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms. 

Engage in continuous and regular collaboration with NGOs and social welfare experts to update anti-trafficking policies; review victim-centered interview processes and investigations; establish improved services for trafficking victims; and create in-depth training programs for the judiciary, labor tribunal, and other task force stakeholders. 

Provide adequate services in Hong Kong to non-resident child and adult victims, including before their repatriation. 

Allow foreign victims to work and study in Hong Kong while participating in judicial proceedings against traffickers. 

Increase protections for foreign domestic workers, including by prohibiting worker-charged recruitment fees, permanently eliminating the “two-week rule,” affording workers an option to live outside their place of employment, and creating legal maximum working hours.