When Anushka moved to Hong Kong from India in 2021, she could never have imagined the fate that awaited her. She knew that her first 21 days in her new home would be spent in isolation, part of the city’s stringent Covid-19 curbs in place at the time. Beyond that, she said, she expected “positive things.”
The fate which awaited her – rape at the hands of her employer and the subsequent loss of her job, financial security and independence – was unimaginable.
File photo: Geralt via Pixabay.com.
“Before even deciding to be a domestic worker in Hong Kong, I had heard many positive things about Hong Kong,” Anushka, an ethnic Nepali who asked to use a pseudonym to protect her anonymity as she looks for work, told HKFP in late November.
💡HKFP grants anonymity to known sources under tightly controlled, limited circumstances defined in our Ethics Code. Among the reasons senior editors may approve the use of anonymity for sources are threats to safety, job security or fears of reprisals.
“As I was packing to come here, I had no idea that something like this would ever happen. But after these past two years, after the verdict, I believe more strongly than ever that justice is served in Hong Kong,” she added, speaking through a Nepali interpreter.
The verdict to which Anushka was referring was reached by a seven-person jury in Hong Kong’s High Court in August, unanimously finding her former employer Patrik Tobias Ekstrom guilty of rape and “non-consensual buggery.”
During the trial, Anushka described how Ekstrom had returned home on October 27, 2022, and forced himself upon her. “He pushed me into the bedroom. I had no power to run away,” she told the court, adding that Ekstrom had threatened to kill her.
On November 11, Ekstrom was jailed for seven years.
“I got the justice I deserved,” Anushka said.
‘I had no other option’
Anushka had to work hard for justice.
Time and again she was made to recount what had happened to her that night. First to police; then to staff at the hospital where she went to receive treatment for sexually transmitted infections and post-traumatic stress disorder; during a preliminary inquiry ahead of the trial; and to complete a victim assessment before Ekstrom’s sentencing. She also faced examination and cross-examination in court, where the veracity of her account was repeatedly called into question.
The High Court. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
In so doing, Anushka became one of very few people in Hong Kong to pursue legal action for sexual violence. In 2022, police received 53 reports of rape. HKFP has reached out to police to ask how many of those reports resulted in arrests and prosecution.
In a report published last month, sexual violence crisis centre RainLily found that survivors of sexual violence on average reported their attacks 1,537 days after the incident, a delay of roughly four years and two months. RainLily also found that of all the cases it had handled from 2019 to 2023, only 41.4 per cent of them had been reported to police.
Irene Lam from RainLily told HKFP by phone that survivors’ reasons for not going to the police, or for putting it off, were manifold. They may be uncomfortable with having to rehash the incident, they may feel shame, or the length and complexity of the process may put them off.
“The environment is not supportive enough for them to go through the whole procedure, including legal support, the police procedure… different parties may be looking for different things [from the survivor’s account], but for the [survivor] it’s the same; they have to repeat it,” Lam said.
The Hong Kong Police Force headquarters in Wan Chai. File photo: Candice Chau/HKFP.
Anushka, though, said she felt she had “no other option.” Having arrived in Hong Kong amid the Covid pandemic, the city’s strict social distancing measures had impaired her ability to make friends.
“At the time, I did not have any friends. I did not know where to go to get help, so all I could think of was to go straight to the police,” she said.
“I knew I could lose my job, but still I thought that my life was more important. I was receiving threats [from Ekstrom] that my life was in danger.”
At the police station, Anushka said one officer asked her: “Show me how he did that, show by doing the actions, the positions.”
“They were just doing their duty,” she said, “but I felt angry and humiliated.”
HKFP has reached out to the police for comment.
Policies leave workers ‘vulnerable to abuse’
With no home to return to, police took Anushka to a shelter for domestic workers. It was there that she began to build connections – with other survivors of sexual violence and with organisations that would offer invaluable support.
“When I went to the shelter, I saw many cases like mine, cases of abuse,” Anushka said.
According to the most recent service report from charitable organisation Mission for Migrant Workers, one in every 25 of its clients reported having been physically or sexually assaulted, harassed or tortured in 2023.
Migrant domestic workers on their day off in Central, Hong Kong, on November 5, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Rachel Li, head of case management and research at domestic workers’ rights organisation HELP for Domestic Workers, said the NGO saw “a lot of cases of varying levels of sexual violence and harassment.”
“Often workers come to us with one issue – let’s say they have an employment issue – and then as we talk to them they say the real reason they wanted to leave was the employer was sexually harassing them,” Li said.
“I think it’s definitely underreported, especially less serious forms of violations… because workers feel that it’s not serious enough to warrant [a report]… if it’s verbal or suggested, a lot of them feel that they can’t leave that situation, which I think is really sad.”
Then there is the power imbalance inherent in domestic workers’ employment rules. According to Immigration Department data, there were more than 356,000 domestic workers in Hong Kong in 2023, mostly women from the Philippines and Indonesia. They are employed in households across the city to cook, clean, raise children, and look after the elderly.
Paid a minimum monthly wage of HK$4,990 per month, domestic workers have just one day off a week and no set standard working hours. They must live in their employer’s home – a policy known as the “live-in” rule.
Waterfall Bay Park, in Hong Kong. File photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Last month, a British man was arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of an Indonesian domestic worker was found in a park on Hong Kong Island. In a statement calling for justice for the victim, a coalition of migrant worker associations and unions said: “Due to the live-in policy, foreign domestic workers are made vulnerable to maltreatment, abuse, and even foul play.”
It said domestic workers “live in isolation six days a week and rarely make social contact except with those inside the employer’s houses. Our stories are often dismissed and this makes it more difficult to report and seek help when we need it.”
Measures are also in place to discourage domestic workers from leaving one position to search for a better one. Those who do not finish their contract are given 14 days to find a new employer before having to return to their home country.
Labour rights advocates have long opposed the policy, saying it discourages domestic workers from leaving abusive bosses. The government says the rule is needed to prevent domestic workers from overstaying their visas and working illegally.
‘Punitive’ legal procedures
Domestic workers’ “unique immigration status,” as Li described it, has also served as a barrier to justice.
“When it comes to domestic workers, it’s really hard for them to pursue these kind of [legal] complaints,” Li said. “In Anushka’s case, for example, she’s had to remain in Hong Kong for two years without working.”
The Immigration Department in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong, on June 11, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Among the support HELP for Domestic Workers has provided to Anushka is visa assistance. “We’ve been helping her apply for visa extensions with the Immigration Department, asking for fee waivers on the basis that she’s a victim of a violent crime,” Li said.
The NGO has also helped Anushka file a successful labour claim, advised her on a potential sex discrimination claim, and guided her through the criminal investigation. “It’s a very scary and alien process,” Li said, adding that police often worked closely with organisations such as HELP or RainLily to offer “social support.”
“Whilst the hearing was going on, we also gave her information on what to expect from the cross-examination process, how to prepare herself, and just in general what to expect, because, again, it’s very alien if you’ve never been through that process,” Li added.
Materially, HELP and another NGO have covered Anushka’s living costs, too. “Another NGO is paying for her accommodation and a little bit of her transport and food. We give her one-off subsidies here and there if she needs a little bit of extra money, but it’s obviously been very difficult for her because it’s not easy to live in Hong Kong without income,” Li said.
After a year at the shelter, Anushka was moved to church accommodation for about two months. “Those times were hard,” she said. “I even went hungry sometimes. But then an organisation helped me get into a boarding house, which gave me food and health allowances.”
Domestics helpers in Central on Sunday May 31, 2020. Photo: May James/HKFP.
All the while, Anushka has been looking for work – a process that has been disrupted by the legal procedure she was part of.
“It’s really hard to find an employer when you have an ongoing criminal case,” Li said flatly.
“It’s almost punitive on the survivor. I think this is what makes domestic workers particularly vulnerable when they try to pursue legal remedies; even though formally these structures are there, they’re not accessible because of their very unique immigration status.”
“The issue – that victims or survivors are penalised for pursuing legal remedies – it’s really frustrating,” Li added.
‘Problematic’ questioning in court
To protect Anushka’s privacy during the trial, she testified from a room separate to the main courtroom, with her evidence streamed on monitors for the judge, the prosecution and the defence. As is often the case with vulnerable witnesses, she was also granted anonymity and referred to throughout proceedings as “X.”
A woman walks past street art in Tsim Sha Tsui, in Hong Kong. Photo: 劉靖/Pexels.
However, these measures did little to protect Anushka from the arguments put forth by the defence that aligned with what academia calls “rape myths“: widely held but false beliefs about rape, people who are raped, and rapists. During rape trials, they can assume the form of questions like those faced by Anushka: why she did not physically resist Ekstrom if she had not consented to the sexual acts.
“The defence said that there was no injury on Anushka, she didn’t scream, she didn’t fight… that’s so problematic, and yet it’s accepted in open court and it’s put forward as legitimate,” Li said.
A barrister by profession, Li said that while “the lawyer in me kind of understands” the approach, “the feminist in me gets angry that these kind of arguments are still being put forward to undermine the very real lived experiences of women.”
Anushka said she had steeled herself for the trial. “I though that whatever came, I would try to handle it,” she said, “but of course there were accusations of things I did not do, but I got myself strong because I knew that I was right.”
Despite Anushka’s outward resilience, Li said the narrative had hurt her. “The defence case was that she accepted money for sex… she’s really upset that this was in open court and this was the allegation made against her,” Li said.
“If I were to be very critical – I think fundamentally the law, the legal system is very patriarchal, the way they judge these kinds of issues,” she added.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done in Hong Kong on how sexual and gender violence cases are heard.”
Messages on a wall to encourage survivors of sexual crimes, one reads “hope that each soul can be treated gently and nicely.” Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP.
Anushka, who was not in court to hear the verdict, said she learned of the jury’s decision from HELP.
“I was not surprised,” she said, “I just thanked God.”
What had surprised her was the length of time it would take to reach that moment, something Li seemed troubled by.
“In retrospect, as much as we tried to provide Anushka with information, there’s always something she didn’t expect or she didn’t know… and she’s always affected by it,” Li said. “For example, she didn’t know that [Ekstrom] could appeal, she didn’t know that it would take this long… as much as you try to help, there’s always something.”
Anushka, though, said: “Even if I had known at the time, before going to the police, that it would go on for such a long time, still I would have gone.”
She said she hoped to stay in Hong Kong for 10 years before returning home, where her four daughters, the youngest of whom is 16 and the eldest 24, can look after her.
In the meantime, she has found friends and joined a domestic workers’ union. She said she hoped to offer support to other survivors of sexual violence: “If I can help with my words or if I can help in person, I will do my best… I think it’s important.”
💡If you are suffering from sexual or domestic violence, regardless of your age or gender, contact the police, Harmony House (click for details) and/or the Social Welfare Department on 28948896.Dial 999 in emergencies.
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Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
Original reporting on HKFP is backed by our monthly contributors.
Almost 1,000 monthly donors make HKFP possible. Each contributes an average of HK$200/month to support our award-winning original reporting, keeping the city’s only independent English-language outlet free-to-access for all. Three reasons to join us:
🔎 Transparent & efficient: As a non-profit, we are externally audited each year, publishing our income/outgoings annually, as the city’s most transparent news outlet.
🔒 Accurate & accountable: Our reporting is governed by a comprehensive Ethics Code. We are 100% independent, and not answerable to any tycoon, mainland owners or shareholders. Check out our latest Annual Report, and help support press freedom.
💰 It’s fast, secure & easy: We accept most payment methods – cancel anytime, and receive a free tote bag and pen if you contribute HK$150/month or more.
