Guidelines overdue on Hong Kong child abuse law
It is almost a year since the passage of a law requiring professionals working with children to report suspected cases of abuse. It is another six months of preparation before it comes into effect – time that must be put to good use to promote awareness and provide guidelines for professionals and institutions. Figures from the Social Welfare Department on child physical and sexual abuse in 2024 are a reminder of that.
They show that the number of child sexual abuse cases is not only creeping up but has nearly doubled over the past decade to more than 500 in 2024. More than one in five of the sexual abusers last year was 16 years of age or below.
This has prompted lawmakers to demand urgent attention from the government, and for an early release of guidelines on the implementation of a mandatory reporting mechanism under a law that criminalises failure to act.
The latter suggestion is sensible. The law places a heavy responsibility on more than 100,000 professionals, including teachers, doctors, social workers, midwives and childcare staff. It was subject to much debate and amendments to safeguard them from unfair blame.
The 1,504 child abuse cases recorded last year were up from 1,457 in 2023 and 1,439 in 2022. They also included 595 cases of physical abuse, 328 of neglect, 43 reports of multiple abuse and another 16 involving psychological abuse.
More than 910 or 60.5 per cent of the victims were girls, half of whom suffered sexual abuse, while 58.1 per cent of male victims suffered physical harm. Among child abuse cases, nearly 60 per cent of all perpetrators were parents.
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Guidelines overdue on Hong Kong child abuse law
It is almost a year since the passage of a law requiring professionals working with children to report suspected cases of abuse. It is another six months of preparation before it comes into effect – time that must be put to good use to promote awareness and provide guidelines for professionals and institutions. Figures from the Social Welfare Department on child physical and sexual abuse in 2024 are a reminder of that. They show that the number of child sexual abuse cases is not only creeping up but has nearly doubled over the past decade to more than 500 in 2024. More than one in five of the sexual abusers last year was 16 years of age or below. This has prompted lawmakers to demand urgent attention from the government, and for an early release of guidelines on the implementation of a mandatory reporting mechanism under a law that criminalises failure to act. The latter suggestion is sensible. The law places a heavy responsibility on more than 100,000 professionals, including teachers, doctors, social workers, midwives and childcare staff. It was subject to much debate and amendments to safeguard them from unfair blame. The 1,504 child abuse cases recorded last year were up from 1,457 in 2023 and 1,439 in 2022. They also included 595 cases of physical abuse, 328 of neglect, 43 reports of multiple abuse and another 16 involving psychological abuse. More than 910 or 60.5 per cent of the victims were girls, half of whom suffered sexual abuse, while 58.1 per cent of male victims suffered physical harm. Among child abuse cases, nearly 60 per cent of all perpetrators were parents.
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