简介
Listen to #Hashtag Hong Kong every Sunday morning at 8.15
Focussing on issues affecting civil society, we'll hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, statutory bodies, and non-profit groups.
(Sundays 8.15am - 8.25am)
最新
Dr. Patrick Cheung, Chairperson, Against Child Abuse
We are pleased to share in Hashtag Hong Kong on an important topic of child protection. This year is our 45th Anniversary. Our mission is to promote a caring and non-violent environment for the optimal growth and development of our children through quality services in prevention, crisis intervention, treatment, training and advocacy.
On gravity of the problem, from year 2011 to 2019, there were around 800 to 900 cases of child abuse every year. This number has been increased by 45% last year to over 1,400 cases. Then you may ask why?
One of the reasons is increased public awareness, from high profile cases in 2018 and 2019. There was an increase in identification and reporting of abuse. In 2019, the Law Reform Commission issued a consultation paper ‘’Failure to Protect Offence.’’ This new offence tackles the question of ‘’which of you did it’’ in serious abuse or child deaths investigations. And a reference chapter on Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse was included as additional information.
In 2020, professional awareness was heightened when the ‘’Procedural Guide for Multi-disciplinary Co-operation’’ was published by the Social Welfare Department, and delineation of roles and responsibilities of professionals was clearly made.
Then in 2020 the pandemic COVID-19 led to family conflicts, job insecurity, children at risk of sexual abuse online etc, adding to the toll of child abuse. Then in 2021, the community was shocked to know that 40 children were abused in a residential child home. So you can see how vulnerable children are in the society.
Even worse, it was estimated that only 1% of abuse cases come to the attention of professionals. Therefore, to save lives, early identification, reporting and intervention are vital. ACA has advocated Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse for some 20 years. In 2013, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended Hong Kong to establish a mandatory reporting mechanism. In 2019, our Ombudsman suggested the same. Soon followed were Government consultations, debates, dialogues and forums among legislators, professional bodies and the community. Now the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance was finally passed and will be in full effect in January 2026. A simple message – ‘’if you see a problem, you must step forward and ask for help.’’
The main causes of child abuse is a complex issue, multifactorial in origin. Poverty, domestic violence, lack of social support, financial difficulties, parents with mental health problems, drug taking, teenage pregnancies, parents abused as a child, unplanned pregnancy or early separation from parents are risk factors of child abuse. Online child sexual abuse and exploitation is another pressing concern. Such risks easily escalate if proper assistance is not rendered.
The word to remember about the long-term effects of child abuse is ACE - Adverse Childhood Experiences. In 1998, Dr Vincent Felitti and colleagues reported the relationships between the ACEs and leading causes of child deaths. There are seven ACEs: 1)psychological abuse, 2)physical abuse, or 3)sexual abuse; 4)violence against mother and household members who were 5)substance abusers, 6)mentally ill or suicidal, and 7)ever has been imprisoned. The more ACEs you have as a child, the more problems you have in adulthood, like diseases of the heart, lung and liver, cancer and bone fractures. People with 4 or more ACEs, had 4- to 12-fold increased health risks for alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and suicide attempt in adulthood when compared to people with none.
In a study by the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, the estimated average lifetime cost per victim of non-fatal child abuse, including childhood health care costs, adult medical costs, productivity losses, child welfare, criminal justice and special education costs was USD830,000 in 2015. The estimated average lifetime cost per abuse death was USD 16.6 million.
We advocate a number of issues. The institutional child abuse in 2021 was a serious wake up call. ACA has a strong view that each child-related organisation should establish its own ‘’organizational child protection policy’’. Our Child Protection Institute was established in 2013 works with organizations on this, such policy will greatly safeguard our children.
The Report by Law Reform Commission in 2021, ‘’Failure to Protect Offence’’ needs to be enacted soon to provide deterrence to those who knowingly fail to protect a child from serious harm or death. Further, the maximum penalty under section 27 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance should be reviewed. This has been recommended by the court in recent years.
There are many more to do in child protection. Our other advocacies include total banning of corporal punishment, child central databank to inform policies and practices, online safety for children, home visitation service for at-risk children which is well proven in its effectiveness in child abuse prevention, a comprehensive Child Ordinance and Child Policy.
To end with an important note, when we work with children, their best interest must take priority.
Lastly this morning, I would like to dedicate a song 小时候 by 路家敏 to remind us all our precious childhood moments.
重温
Wong Shek Hung, Director of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Programme, Oxfam Hong Kong
It is the eighteenth year I have been working at Oxfam Hong Kong. I have dedicated my passion here because Oxfam is courageous enough to speak the truth and advocate for a just world that narrows the poverty gap. Each year, we launch our Hong Kong Poverty Report based on the data from the Census and Statistics Department, providing in-depth analysis of the poverty situation in Hong Kong to develop policy suggestions for alleviating poverty. Looking back, this marks the tenth year since we launched the poverty report. Unfortunately, I must say that this year's report reveals the largest income gap and the highest poverty rate to date.
According to our latest report, it found that the poorest decile earned 81.9 times less than the richest decile in the first quarter of 2024. Over 1.39 million people now live under the poverty line. Of this total, about one million individuals are poor non-economic active population, having left the labor market for different reasons. Even more alarming is the rise in poverty among our elderly; more than 580,000 individuals aged 65 or above were living in poverty, including approximately 260,000 singleton and doubleton elderly households.
Government has just released the Policy Address and I am glad to see that the Policy Address aligns with our calls to activate the non-economic poor population, including the elderly and women, to re-engage with the community with different forms of support. However, the establishment of a poverty line has not been addressed.
Since 2022, the government has stopped publishing poverty reports and associated poverty lines, adopting Targeted Poverty Alleviation instead. This strategy supports single-parent households, elderly households, and those in sub-divided units. However, it's crucial to retain a poverty line to analyze and monitor Hong Kong's overall poverty situation. This data enhances the design of effective poverty reduction policies tailored to different target groups. We understand the concerns in society regarding the accuracy of the poverty line, noting that it may overestimate poverty situation, as some individuals may own properties and other assets. In July of this year, we finished another research report regarding the poverty line and we suggest analysing households that include elderly individuals independently and converting the assets of these families into monthly income through annuitisation methods. We are open to discussing the measurement of the poverty line and hope the government will reconsider it, as it serves as crucial evidence for designing targeted poverty strategies.
The Policy Address proposed the set-up of a Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy. Oxfam expects that the Committee will design its policy suggestions focusing on 'enabling' and 'active ageing' strategies to address the issues arising from population ageing.
We previously suggested the Government create a database for singleton and doubleton elderly households by integrating data from different departments. We’re pleased that the Policy Address mentioned creating an interdisciplinary database for caregivers of the elderly and disabled. We hope this database's scope expands to include singleton and doubleton elderly households and is shared with social welfare agencies. This would help match appropriate social welfare support to these families.
Above all, early intervention and preventive measures are crucial for reducing health risks among the elderly. I welcome the government's proposal in the Policy Address to develop primary healthcare solutions. We further suggest that the government utilise telemedicine and technologies to provide suitable medical care. It should also promote elder-friendly exercises such as dance and stretching, combining programmes with online platforms to enable home training. The government could consider expanding medical vouchers to include online/offline health courses on exercise, allowing elderly to manage their health independently.
For those young old who are still willing to join labor market, we need an elderly-friendly environment. Hong Kong's poor elderly labor participation is only 3.8%, far lower than Mainland China (25%) and Norway (22.2%). The significant discrepancy is largely due to the intensity of pull factors in policy. We advocate the government should encourage employers to hire elderly through simplified application procedures of the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged by directly providing subsidies based on the number of new elderly employees hired, as well as enhancing elderly’s willingness to work by lowering the threshold for elderly applicants in the Working Family Allowance Scheme. Even if they engage in part-time job, they could still enjoy full subsidies.
Population ageing doesn't have to lead to a social crisis. Long-term, by promoting Active Ageing and creating elder-friendly environments through technological and social innovations, society can address elderly needs. With government incentives to help re-engage motivated elderly in society and the job market, they can become valuable social capital. We all play a role in supporting each other. With vision and cooperation among public, private, and community stakeholders, Hong Kong can overcome challenges and build a more inclusive future.
This morning, I would like to dedicate a song “Imagine” by John Lennon to all of you and hope we will make a better world together.
