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[Domestic Violence] The economic downturn caused the intensification of violence to come forward and report to the police, can we get rid of the "claw"? |01 Weekly

2020-06-04T18:47:58.154Z


"During the financial tsunami in 2008, the SWD's domestic violence cases reached more than 6,000 (Figure 1), you know that the economic situation is directly related to family harmony. It is not just grassroots families that are affected by the economy.


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Written by: Lin Jiaqi

2020-06-03 17:00

Last update date: 2020-06-03 17:00

"During the 2008 financial tsunami, the SWD's domestic violence cases reached more than 6,000 cases (Figure 1), you know that the economic situation is directly related to family harmony. The economic impact is not only on the grassroots families, but also the middle class People. I am really a bit worried." said Lin Shaomin, senior community education director of Harmony House.

To undertake the above: [Domestic Violence] Seek help in the outbreak of the epidemic and become a "home" is no longer a "refuge"

(Hong Kong 01 Cartography)

"I heard of a case and even thought of seeking death. The male worker had been working in the mainland before the outbreak, and returned to Hong Kong before the customs closed. He could not get to work during the quarantine period. Originally he had two jobs and one was changed. The other half mentioned many times that if he had no money to take home, he would have to divorce. The most common cases of help in the past four months were that (the perpetrator) had alcohol, drug abuse, or extramarital affairs, and these families already had problems. During March and April, there were really cases caused by economic problems caused by the epidemic. For example, encountering layoff (dismissal) has also become the fuse of violent conflict."

The Hong Kong Family Welfare Association ("Family Welfare Association") entrusted the research team of the Chinese University of Hong Kong to conduct a "Hong Kong Family Happiness Index" study in 2019. From July to August last year, 1,343 people aged 18 or above were interviewed by random sampling Hong Kong residents living with their families. The survey results show that the average Hong Kong family happiness index in 2019 is 6.23 points. Among the six categories, "family solidarity" is the highest score and 7.41 points; the lowest is "life balance" and only 4.45 points. Research scholars say that Hong Kong people may lack family life due to long working hours. Another thing worth noting is that the lower the income, the lower the family happiness index.

The number of domestic violence cases by district provided by the Social Welfare Department shows that the first three districts with the most domestic violence cases last year were Yuen Long, Kwun Tong and Kwai Tsing. Table I).

The latest unemployment rate announced by the government reached 5.2%. During the post-epidemic period, Hong Kong's economy will inevitably continue to slump for a period of time. Will this bring another crisis of domestic violence? How do front-line law enforcement officers and social workers face this dilemma? We might as well look at the handling of domestic violence from a past domestic violence incident.

(Hong Kong 01 Cartography)

For the children to return to the abuser

Carrefour conducted a "Partner Violence Study" in 2017. After conducting a questionnaire survey on 284 women, it was found that more than 60% of the interviewed women said that they did not leave home due to violence; about 28% of women suffered from domestic violence When leaving home, the average time to leave home is 1.6 months. Among them, nearly 80% of women chose to go home. The main reasons for choosing to go home are "don't want to leave children" and "care for children".

It can be seen from this that most abused women will eventually return to the abuser because of their children who would risk taking the domestic violence again.

Because they are pregnant in October, and because they are connected by blood and flesh, they can't get rid of the family's bondage, like a heavy vortex, a vicious circle.

Speaking of domestic violence, many people will think of a family of four people in Tianshuiwei in 2004, the massacre. At that time, a man in Tianheng Village abused his wife for a long time, and was more likely to sexually assault a pair of wives. The wife could not bear to intend to divorce, and temporarily stayed in the asylum center. The three females were killed by a man, and the man was sent to the hospital after being killed. The subsequent cause-of-death hearing revealed that the victim had reported to the police that he had been beaten by the man two days before the incident. The police officers on the scene saw the victim's feet bleeding, but the victim was not investigated, so the case was classified as a "family incident." (Commonly known as "family disputes") Handle and refer to social workers for follow-up.

Most of the battered women would eventually return to the abuser because of their children and would risk taking the domestic violence again. The picture shows a Korean domestic violence movie. (Profile picture)

In the same year, the SWD published the "Tian Shui Wai Family Service Group Review Report", which reviewed the police's handling practices and recommended that "police officers, especially frontline officers, should be provided with adequate training to increase their sensitivity to domestic violence. And deepen their understanding of the issues, so that they know how to help people who are troubled by domestic violence." But after more than ten years, has the problem improved?

According to the 2017 annual report of the Superintendent of Police, when police officers deal with domestic violence incidents, even if they see injuries to the boys in the family involved, they still classify the case as "family incident" rather than "domestic violence (criminal)" ". The report recommends re-examining the classification and guidelines of law enforcement personnel for family conflict cases (Table 2) .

Looking through the figures of the past three years, it is not difficult to find that most cases of family conflicts are classified as "family incidents" by frontline law enforcement officers. According to a Legislative Council document, there were 12,485 domestic conflict cases in 2017, of which only about 15% were classified as domestic violence cases; the proportion was also similar last year, and only 17% of the cases were classified as domestic violence cases. The remaining 80% are listed as "family incidents" (Figure 2) .

Unclear definition of frontline law enforcement

"Is the alarm useful? If not, why should I report it?"-This is a question many victims ask when they want help. The Hong Kong Women’s Center Association often hears women who have called the police saying that the police officers will only "persuad" after the scene and will say something like "may affect your children", or even say that the victim has resisted with a hand Therefore, if you want to report a case, you will both sue. Association Education Officer Wang Yasi said that after hearing a case, the victim was questioned by the police officer: "Do you want to sue your husband?" The victim felt that the law enforcement officers blamed the domestic violence on themselves. They had talked to the police. The police responded that because the Department of Justice had relevant guidelines requiring witnesses on the spot, frontline police officers would make such questions to the victims on the spot.

The Hong Kong Women’s Center Association conducted a survey on women’s helpline service and domestic violence in 2017, and found that most of the victims did not get a clear explanation from law enforcement officers when they called the police for help. They did not even follow the procedural guidelines. The suspect issued a "Notice of Domestic Violence" or provided a "Family Assistance Service Information Card" to the victim. The investigation also found that victims of domestic violence were more seeking help from family members, friends, colleagues, etc. than government departments.

"Has the problem been solved in recent years?" Wang Yasi shook his head and replied: "We have heard of such complaints recently." The director of the Hong Kong Women's Center Association, Liao Jushan, mentioned that he had communicated with the police after 2017 and expressed hope. Updated the guidelines for frontline staff in dealing with domestic violence issues, but when will they change? "No one of us knows."

"One of the problems in handling domestic violence in Hong Kong is that there is no clear official definition. You see that the guidelines of the police and the SWD are different," said Liao Peishan. Different guidelines make different handling methods.

When the victims get out of the haze, can the social system and support support them well? (Photo by Gao Zhongming)

Looking at the document, the "Family and Cohabitation Relations Violence Ordinance" does not define "domestic violence". The only thing in the regulations that is closest is the word "harassment". However, the definition of "harassment" is also quite broad. It can be violence without physical contact, especially any behavior that has an adverse effect on mental and physical health.

According to the Hong Kong Police Force’s document “The Role and Responsibilities of Police Officers at the Site of Domestic Violence”, domestic violence refers to “any person who is generally referred to as having a marriage or family relationship, involving violence or disrupting social peace "Case"; and family relations include common-law partners or lovers, and couples or spouses who have broken up or divorced. Regardless of men and women, they can also be abusers and victims of domestic violence cases. When frontline law enforcement officers classify domestic violence cases, they often classify those with physical contact and obvious injuries on their bodies as "domestic violence". "Criminal" or "Miscellaneous".

The Social Welfare Department’s guidelines for domestic violence clearly state that domestic violence is not just physical abuse but also mental abuse. The three documents are all about "domestic violence" and they all represent official attitudes, but the different definitions reflect different standards for identifying domestic violence. The Hong Kong Women’s Center Association said that this will only increase the number of cases of hidden domestic violence, proving that official figures cannot reflect the full picture of actual domestic violence.

Violence between husband and wife not only affects the relationship between them, but also deeply affects the next generation who witnessed domestic violence. (The stills of "The World of Couples")

Alternative child abuse is not an individual family matter

Violence between husband and wife not only affects the relationship between them, but also deeply affects the next generation who witnessed domestic violence. Even if the perpetrators did not vent their anger on their children, they watched the pictures of violence every day, and their ears were stained with their ears. It was easy to normalize "violence" and mistakenly thought it was an inevitable means of getting along with others. Adults still have the ability to adjust and repair themselves in the face of violence, but children obviously do not. "I have seen cases where children have not been subjected to domestic violence, but they go to the children's room to play with toys. They are very destructive and will push the toys to the ground." Lin Shaomin said.

In some cases, the children even lose their speech skills. In the case, the seven-year-old child was not subjected to violence, but because of the long-term picture of his father's use of force against his mother, it slowly led to depression and affected social and emotional expression. The child will create a vocabulary, just like living in her own world. The mother feels guilty when she sees the child, but on the other hand, she is afraid to ask the school social worker for help, worrying that the child may be discriminated against by classmates once let others know. .

"We often say that domestic violence is not a family affair, but a social affair. When the victim feels that he is being abused because he did something wrong, that is far from the affair of an individual family. We want to let people in the community (Violence) understands and teaches them how to support others when they see such encounters even if domestic violence does not happen to them." Lin Shaomin emphasized again, "Domestic violence is not a matter of individual families."

The above excerpt is from the 216th "Hong Kong 01" weekly report (June 1, 2020) "The economic downturn caused violence to intensify and come forward to the police, can you get rid of the "claw"? ".

More weekly articles:【01 Weekly News Page】

[01 Initiative] Listen to the pains of the four generations to resolve deep-seated structural contradictions

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Source: hk1

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