Social News
Written by: Yuan Shu
2021-04-25 13:14
Last update date: 2021-04-25 13:14
The incident of a 5-year-old girl being abused to death has aroused social concern, and once again aroused discussion on whether a mandatory reporting mechanism should be established. The Law Reform Commission also recommended the establishment of a "no protection crime."
The Chairman of the Hong Kong Committee on the Rights of the Child, Lei Zhang Shenjia, stated in the radio program "Clarify the Truth" today (25) that he is not worried about the mandatory reporting of child abuse will be abused, but pointed out that the supporting facilities need to be adequate, including professionals in different positions. With the corresponding training and accumulated experience, I believe that everyone will not make a swarm of reports.
Lei Zhang Shenjia, Chairman of the Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights.
(Information Picture/Photographed by Zhang Dunlong)
Lei Zhang Shenjia said that the Child Abuse Prevention Committee has passed the guidelines for protecting children from abuse earlier. The content is very detailed. However, it is not enough to encourage education and support. Some medical professionals, teachers, social workers and other professionals may not fully understand and believe that Hong Kong The investment in related resources is relatively small, and I hope that more attention will be paid in different links in the future.
Mandatory reporting needs to cover medical care, social workers, teachers, etc.
Many people worry that if the report is compulsory, it will lead to abuse and waste of social resources.
Lei Zhang Shenjia said that this requires everyone to work together. Professionals in different positions should have corresponding training and accumulated experience. I believe they will not be swarmed to report.
As for who should be covered by the mandatory reporting mechanism, she said that in the general direction, she hopes to cover medical care, social workers, teachers, etc., but legislation must be done in layers and steps. She emphasizes the analysis of individual cases and believes that we must be brave enough to face problems.
Lei Zhang Shenjia also pointed out that the speed of reviewing cases must be fast, and child protection needs comprehensive reforms.
She said that the government has to review why it has been slow to promote child protection policies. Even though the Law Reform Commission has recommended reforms to children’s laws and has received support from cross-party legislators in the Legislative Council, the government has not yet put forward discussions.
She questioned that the social events and epidemics in recent years, together with the "big projects" such as the National Security Education Day, all reflected that the government did not give priority to children's affairs, only "headaches", and the situation is not ideal.
There have been 13 referrals for child abuse cases and they have not been dealt with. Lei Zhang Shenjia said that professional intervention should be timely and appropriate
Last year, there were 769 cases of child abuse. Children staying alone at home rose by 23%. 8-year-old children had no parents for three months
The SWD receives about 1,000 child abuse cases each year. The Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse: reorganizing families is at high risk
[Policy Forum] Kindergarten Principal Exploded Child Abuse Incident, Establishing a Proper Reporting Mechanism Cannot Be Delayed
The Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse received 144 suspected child abuse cases involving 174 children and 23 cases involving sexual assault last year
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