The Hong Kong Women's Commission (WoC), together with guests from women's groups and various sectors of Hong Kong's community, celebrated International Women's Day 2005 at a reception Tuesday.

At the reception, the WoC also presented awards to 16 winners of the "Women in Hong Kong: Harmony and Balance" Creative Competition organized jointly by the commission, Hong Kong Education City Limited and Radio Television Hong Kong Radio 2.

On behalf of the WoC chairperson Sophie Leung, WoC member Fanny Cheung said that advancement of women's status, rights and opportunities was a long-term process.

"The commission will press on with its work and is confident of meeting challenges ahead in promoting mutual respect and harmony between the sexes," she said.

In reviewing the work of the WoC in the past four years, Cheung said the WoC had focused its work on three priority areas: gender mainstreaming, empowering of women and public education with the aim to create an enabling environment and promote capacity building for women.

Cheung pointed out that the commission would focus its attention on women's safety, nurturing of a caring family, and gender awareness this year. These are basic areas affecting women that would need further sustainable actions.

The commission sees domestic violence as a major threat to women's safety that warrants priority action. Building on its catalytic and central coordinating role, the commission is planning to roll out a declaration/booklet on zero tolerance of domestic violence, and to enhance community support through development of a district focal point network, Cheung said.

Recognizing parenting education as an important element in developing nurturing and caring families, the WoC is formulating strategies to promote and raise public awareness on the importance of quality parenting in Hong Kong, said Cheung.

On gender awareness, the commission believed that elimination of gender stereotyping should start early in life in order to be effective and enduring, Cheung added.

Source: Xinhua