The Hong Kong government will implement an amendment in the domestic violence law Friday, which seeks to extend the scope of the Domestic Violence Ordinance (DVO) to cover same-sex couples.

The Domestic Violence (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 will enable a party to a cohabitation relationship, whether of the same sex or opposite sex, to apply to the court for an injunction order against molestation by the other party.

"The amendments to the DVO are made in light of the fact that similar special power interface, dynamics and risk factors between heterosexual cohabitants might also exist between same-sex cohabitants in intimate relationships and render the victims reluctant to report to the police the abusers' acts of violence", said the Secretary for Labor and Welfare, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung.

However, he stressed that the amendments "should not be regarded as equivalent to giving legal recognition to same-sex relationships".

The DVO, enacted in 1986, provides civil remedies in the form of injunctions to protect spouses, people in heterosexual cohabitation relationships and their children against molestation by the other party to the relationship.

The Legislative Council passed the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2009 after its third reading on December 16 to further extend the coverage of the Ordinance to same-sex cohabitants, such former cohabitants and their children.