Violence Against Women in Hong Kong: Results of the International Violence Against Women Survey

Abstract

The International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS) was conducted in Hong Kong in 2006 and nearly 1,300 women took part in the telephone survey. One in five respondents experienced at least one incident of violence since age 16. Sexual violence (13.4%) was more frequently reported than physical violence (11.7%). Women were more likely to be abused by intimate partners and other known men (13.5%) than by strangers (8%). Compared to other countries surveyed by the IVAWS, Hong Kong recorded among the lowest rates of violence by both intimate partners and non-partners. These results suggest that cultural influences linked to the interaction of modernization and some protective factors found in the adherence to traditional Chinese values may be at play.

Keywords: violence against women, crime victims, crime survey, intimate partner violence, Hong Kong, China