國際特赦組織發表聲明，講述10月3日香港有爭取民主的和平集會，被反對者攻擊，但香港警察未有盡責保護和平集會人士，有證人指婦女被性騷擾和非禮。國際特赦組織香港分會總幹事區美寶直指警方表現「可恥」。聲明全文：
國際特赦組織國際新聞稿 Amnesty International Press Release
香港：警方未能保護和平示威者女性示威者遇襲
國際特赦組織指出，警方在星期五晚上的集會中，無法有效地保護數百名和平爭取民主示威者，令他們受到反示威者的衝擊。
星期五晚，反示威者與爭取民主示威者於旺角及銅鑼灣地區發生衝突，其中更有針對女示威者的性侵犯行為和性暴力的騷擾及恐嚇。
「警察今晚袖手旁觀是可恥的。政府當局沒能保護和平示威者的人身安全實屬失職。」國際特赦組織香港分會總幹事區美寶說。
「上個星期以來，我們看到街上有大量警察。遺憾的是，他們今晚的失職將可能導致局勢進一步失控。
國際特赦組織從第一手目擊證人處獲知，女性在示威場地受到攻擊和恐嚇，而站在一旁的警察卻視若無睹。
一位在旺角的女示威者告訴國際特赦組織，下午4點左右，當她和其他示威者站在一起的時候，有一個男人伸手抓住她的胸部。她也看到同一個男人偷襲其他兩個女人的腹股溝。數名警官見到這名男子的行為，卻不做任何阻攔。於是其他的示威者開始採取行動，以免該男子繼續攻擊在場的其他女性。
直至現場氣氛暴動數小時後，警察增援部隊才到達。可是，警方並未盡力控制局面。警方究竟低估了反示威者的威脅，還是決定不做干預，仍是一個疑問。
政府當局有責任促進公民自由言論、和平集會權利的行使，以及保護和平示威者免於暴力攻擊。
「根據國際標準，和平集會不會因一些反對集會的人的不守規矩或甚至暴力行為而變成非法集會。」
從10月3日下午開始，在集會地點的氣氛變得越來越緊張，然而，警方在控制秩序時顯得困難。在場的觀察員表示，即使情況在數小時內已明顯急速惡化，但警方並沒有加派人手。
警方拘捕了數位人士，但明顯對反對和平集會的人沒有起到警示作用。
Hong Kong: Women and girls attacked as police fail to protect peaceful protesters
Hong Kong's police failed in their duty to protect hundreds of peaceful pro-democracy protesters from attacks by counter demonstrators on Friday evening, Amnesty International said.
Women and girls were among those targeted, including incidents of sexual assault, harassment and intimidation, as counter-demonstrators clashed with pro-democracy protesters in the Mongkok and Causeway Bay areas of Hong Kong on Friday evening.
"The police inaction tonight is shameful. The authorities have failed in their duty to protect peaceful protesters who came under attack," said Mabel Au, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong.
"There has been a heavy police presence during the past week, but their failure tonight risks fuelling an increasingly volatile situation."
Amnesty International has first-hand witness accounts of women being physically attacked and threatened, while police stood by and did nothing.
One woman at the demonstration in Mongkok told Amnesty International how a man grabbed her breasts while she was standing with other protesters at around4pm. She also witnessed the same man assault two other women by touching their groins. Several police officers witnessed this but failed to take any action against the man. Fellow protesters then intervened to prevent the man attacking any more women.
Police reinforcements appeared only hours after the atmosphere became violent, but the police still struggled to maintain control.
It is unclear whether the police simply underestimated the risk posed by counter-demonstrators, or whether they decided not to intervene.
The authorities have an obligation to protect peaceful protesters from violent attacks. Demonstrators must be allowed to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Under international standards, a peaceful assembly does not become illegal because some counter-demonstrators act in an unruly or even violent way.
Since the late afternoon, the situation has become increasingly tense, and police seemed to have had difficulty maintaining control. Observers reported that police forces were not sufficient for several hours, despite widespread reports of an urgently deteriorating situation.
The police have made some arrests, but this seems to have made no affect on the counter-demonstrators.