Carmen Tang explains why, even though Hong Kong lacks specific legislation to protect individuals affected by HIV and AIDS against discrimination, the Disability Discrimination Ordinance acts as a shield to minimize the impact of such discrimination.
She also tells Will Ripley about the protection of privacy and confidentiality provided by the Bill of Rights Ordinance.
Visit our Wills of Concern campaign to find out more about how we are raising funds for AIDS Concern by writing wills for donations until end of 2019.
Carmen Tang解釋儘管香港缺乏保護愛滋病病毒感染者不受歧視的具體立法，但《殘疾歧視條例》仍然為他們提供一定程度的保障。她還向Will Ripley講述了《香港人權法案條例》下對隱私和保密性的保障。
由即日起至2019年12月31日我們會以撰寫遺囑為關懷愛滋籌款。欲知詳情請參閱Wills of Concern。
TRANSCRIPT
Will Ripley
Is there any specific legislation here in Hong Kong to protect people living with HIV and AIDS?
在香港有專門保護愛滋病病毒感染者的法例嗎？
Carmen Tang
Not really. The Hong Kong authorities have decided not to provide any specific laws on that.
沒有，香港沒有為他們提供任何特殊法律保障
Will Ripley
Why is that? 為甚麼？
Carmen Tang
I think mainly two reasons: the first one is that there’s a voluntary reporting system on the collection of data in relation to HIV and AIDS which has been in place for a long time in Hong Kong and it proves effective and that’s why the administration thinks that no serious reform is required in terms of legislation and secondly I think the most important on is that the society has been aware of the risk of discrimination thus we have the Disability Discrimination Ordinance which not only protects the patients and also the spouses, cohabitants and also business associates. The Ordinance actually acts as a shield to protect against harassment and discrimination in areas like employment, education and also on provision of goods, services and facilities.
關於愛滋病病毒，香港有一段長時間
當局覺得這樣行之有效，所以並沒有法律改革的需要
更重要的是社會對於反歧視更有意識
所以我們有《殘疾歧視條例》以保障病人
他們的配偶以及同居伴侶，甚至商業夥伴
這條例亦是一道屏障，保障殘疾人士在僱傭、教育、貨品、服務及設施的提供等範疇內免受歧視、騷擾及中傷
Will Ripley
Those issues are exactly why I think confidentiality must be a huge concern for a lot of patients.
我認為這正正是為何對許多病人來說
保密性是一個很大的顧慮
Carmen Tang
Yeah, and actually in the fight against AIDS the most important role that the law plays, first one, I just mentioned about the protection against discrimination and also the protection of confidentiality, in fact in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance provides us that the individual’s privacy should not be interfered and also Common Law also recognises the duty of confidentiality.
沒錯，在對抗愛滋病的議題上，法律扮演著重要角色
第一是我剛提到的免受歧視保障
另外就是保密性的保障
其實在香港，《香港人權法案條例》亦有列明
個人私隱不應受侵犯
普通法亦承認保密義務
Will Ripley
Does this even apply for example for healthcare workers?
這亦適用於醫護人員嗎？
Carmen Tang
Yes, this also applies to healthcare workers because actually for healthcare workers they do not need to disclose their status to the patients and also to the employers unless it is required and also with a consent. The reason for that is not just to respect their privacy but also in case for healthcare workers that might have been infected and if there’s a risk of infection, they are encouraged to seek proper couselling and help.
對的，這亦適用於醫護人員
他們無須向病人或僱主公開他們的狀況
除非得到本人的同意或這是必須的情況
這不只是基於尊重
而是當醫護人員懷疑受感染
或是有感染的風險，他們也可以尋求輔導和協助
