Break the silence of child abuse
Nicole Kwok (12)
Eva Suen (20)
Objectives
• Analysis the reasons leading to the increasing
trend of child abuse in Hong Kong
• To assess the effectiveness of the child abuse
laws in Hong Kong compared with other
country
• Solutions and measures
Interviewee: Mrs. Priscilla Lui
(Director of Against child abuse)
Video time: Government
advertisment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-nVPYvBb04
Definition of child abuse
child abuse =
• purposeful and serious injury inflicted upon
a child by a caregiver
• both physically and psychologically
• categorized into 4 groups :neglect,
physical abuse, sexual abuse and
psychological abuse.
• multi-abuse, which is a combination of
them.
Current situation
• Increasing trend ( from 450 cases in 1994 to
854 cases in 2009)
The trend of child abuse in Hong Kong
900
800
700
600
500
no. of cases
400
300
200
100
0
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
Video: News
• http://mytv.tvb.com/news/newsat730/10
1535/959#page-1
(16:01)
Child abuse offenders as young as 10
( standard newsTuesday, November 20 )
Child abuse in Hong Kong has reached an
"alarming trend," with some offenders
being as young as 10 years old, according
to a child protection watchdog.
What kind of abuse dominate in
Hong Kong?
Newly reported child abuse cases from January
to December 2009
physical abuse
neglect
sexual abuse
psychological
abuse
multiple abuse
Statistics on cases involving child abuse is captured by the Child Protection
Registry (CPR)
Contributing factors of child abuse
Parental side
• parents or care givers experienced lack of
supervision or maltreatment in their
childhood
Child side
• Problems caused by children in
developmental stages
• Innocent acts by children which may
provoke parents
Contributing factors of child
abuse
Other factors
• Economic depression
-financial problem
• Social perception
- “spread the rod and spoil
on child”
Policy made by the Hong Kong
government
Legislation:
ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of child or
young person
Details of the law:
• If any person
• who has the custody, charge or care of any child or young
person under that age willfully
• assaults, ill-treats, neglects, abandons or exposes such
child or young person
• or causes or procures such child or young person to be
assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or exposed in
a manner likely to cause such child or young person
unnecessary suffering or injury to his health
Policy made by the Hong
Kong government
• ineffective
• did not clearly specify the age of the
guardian
Measures by Canadian government
(1)Laws
• the creation of child abuse registries
• the extension of time limits for laying
charges in child sexual abuse cases
• the establishment of child protection
agencies run by First Nations.
Measures by Canadian government
(2) Education
• provide children with knowledge about their rights
• teaching them the skills to identify abuse
(3) Professional development and resources
(4) Support for program and service delivery
show more active and incentive
than Hong Kong government
Measures by local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
Against Child Abuse Ltd.
•
•
•
•
Provide hotline
Casework
Group Work
Other Services :e.g. volunteer services,
training programmes
Measures by local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation
(ECSAF)
• “Hugline" & Counseling
• Workshops
• Education Programs
Recommendations to improve
current situation
Monitoring and protecting children through
school network and neighbourhood network
• cooperate with shop owners, housing estate
management office and other organizations
Amendment to laws
• Specifying the age of the guardian
and make review on cases of child abuse
Recommendations to improve
current situation
Set up Commission for children affairs
• take referencing resources of other foreign
countries
Arousing public attention on
child abuse
• spread the message of importance of
harmonious family to the public
Conclusion
• Hong Kong government has put commendable
efforts in preventing and handling the child abuse
cases.
• cooperation among the government, the NGOs and
the public is much needed.
• The public should be more sensitive to the current
issue and show our concern and enthusiasm to help
our neighbours.
~THE END ~