To promote gender equality and women’s human rights, the Gender Studies Programme at CUHK co-organized an international conferences, in collaboration with the Gender Research Centre (GRC) at CUHK. The conference ‘International Conference 2026: Technology, Intimacy and Violence: Education and Prevention’ took place in April 2026. It explored strategies to prevent and combat technology-facilitated violence and to strengthen public awareness and offered a keynote speech ‘Understanding and Preventing Tech Facilitated Gender Based Violence’, providing a timely overview of tech-facilitated gender-based violence and explore strategies for prevention.

Against the background of public interest in the issue of legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Hong Kong, Professor Suen Yiu Tung, Associate Professor of the Gender Studies Programme at CUHK, published the findings of a study in January 2025 revealing that same-sex couples in Hong Kong have a strong desire for marriage despite their lack of legal recognition.

A survey conducted from May to August 2023 found that 70% of Hong Kong LGBQ+ (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, queer or questioning individuals, and other individuals of diverse sexual orientations or gender identities) respondents who were in a committed same-sex relationship said that they wanted to marry, showing that marriage remains an important institution in the mind of the LGBQ+ community in Hong Kong. As same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in Hong Kong, many LGBQ+ individuals fear that they will not be treated fairly in public domains in Hong Kong, e.g. in healthcare and workplace settings. These findings indicate that there is a case for Hong Kong to review and update its legal framework to recognize same-sex relationships—a call echoed by both LGBQ+ individuals and their parents and family members.

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.

• Visit the UN website to learn more.