Mathilda Davies

Same-sex couples in Hong Kong will now be allowed to own subsidised housing together after a landmark High Court ruling which saw a gay widower take on the government.

Henry Li was not able to inherit the government-subsidised flat his late husband Edgar Ng bought in 2018 after they wed in the UK because the city’s housing policies deny same-sex partners joint occupancy and ownership rights.

The court said that the refusal to acknowledge married same-sex couples in Hong Kong’s subsidised housing policies “constitute[s] unlawful discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation”.

Justice Anderson Chow, who presided over the case, said that denying joint occupancy and ownership rights to same-sex couples was in violation of Hong Kong’s constitution and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights.

In 2019, Ng had brought two judicial review proceedings against Hong Kong’s government, one seeking equal rights for same-sex couples in subsidised housing. The other review challenged inheritance and intestacy laws, as he was concerned his husband would not inherit his property if he died without a will.

The High Court ruled in Ng’s favour in September last year to grant he and Li equal ownership of their home. However, the government attempted to appeal against the decision.

Ng died by suicide in December 2020, and the hearings for his two judicial reviews began in April this year.

Li told the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) in March that he wasn’t able to identify his husband’s body or make funeral arrangements because their marriage wasn’t recognised in Hong Kong.

He added: “Edgar’s mother is now demanding that I be excluded from the scattering of Edgar’s ashes and that I move out from our matrimonial home.”

His mother later demanded Li return all of Ng’s possessions and documents to her.

Li explained: “When your spouse dies, you expect dignity for your spouse and yourself.

“This kind of discrimination is not acceptable in our society.”

Black LGBT+ school pupils are less likely to feel safe at school than their white peers, new research has found.

LGBT+ young people’s charity Just Like Us reported that just 52 per cent of Black queer students stated they felt safe in school on a daily basis in the past year, compared to 57 per cent of Asian pupils and 59 per cent of white respondents.

Black LGBT+ pupils were twice as likely as white peers to say they have never felt safe in school. Six per cent of Black respondents chose this answer, compared with three per cent of white pupils.

EO of Just Like Us Dominic Arnall told The Independent: “Our independent research devastatingly shows that Black LGBT+ young people are struggling significantly more than their peers when it comes to safety at school and tension at home, and this is having a huge impact on their mental health and wellbeing.”

The study spoke to almost 3,000 secondary school aged pupils from across the country, 1,140 of whom were LGBT+. It will form a part of a larger report on LGBT+ inclusion in education, which Just Like Us plans to publish in June 2021.

In February, Just Like Us also looked into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black LGBT+ young people, which found similarly concerning results. Over 60 per cent of Black queer youth said they worried on a daily basis, compared to 51 per cent of white LGBT+ youth.

The survey also found Black LGBT+ youth were more likely to struggle with depression, anxiety, panic attacks and addiction. Arnall called the results “devastating”.

UK Black Pride also recently announced a survey to find out more about the experiences of Black LGBT+ people and LGBT+ people of colour in the UK.

Lady Phyll, the co-founder of UK Black Pride said: “Our communities remain overlooked and underestimated, but it may be that the right people aren’t doing the asking. So we’re stepping up to ask what the communities we represent feel, need and find joy in.”