Abused Domestic Worker To Challenge Hong Kong's Trafficking Record

Authorities have rejected those demands, but now face a legal challenge after a rare successful conviction of an employer sexually abusing a domestic helper.

A Philippine domestic worker who was sexually abused by her Hong Kong employer will take the city's police to court over their decision not to classify her as a victim of human trafficking, her lawyers said Friday. Activists have long argued that the city's 370,000 domestic workers -- mostly poor women from the Philippines and Indonesia -- are acutely vulnerable to various forms of exploitation, including sexual abuse, and have backed calls for a suite of dedicated anti-trafficking laws. Authorities have rejected those demands, but now face a legal challenge after a rare successful conviction of an employer sexually abusing a domestic helper. The woman -- referred to in legal documents as "CB" -- was hired to work as a domestic helper for Brian Apthorp, a British permanent resident in his 80s.