This Wednesday (November 17), a man and a woman convicted of serious child abuse earlier were sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in prison in the High Court.
The case occurred in the first half of 2019. The cohabiting couple involved took care of a one-year-old daughter on behalf of a female friend. However, the baby girl died of violence and did not get enough nutrition.
The judge pointed out that even if only one of the defendants inflicted about 70 injuries on the baby girl, it does not mean that the other person could avoid the responsibility of turning a blind eye or failing to prevent it. Therefore, the guilt of the two was treated equally.
Although the baby girl and mother were arrested at the same time, after consulting with the Department of Justice, the police found that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. The current law does not provide for the "unprotection crime" that allows the child to be harmed, so he was prosecuted in this case. The defendant did not include her.
Nevertheless, the judge still criticized the baby girl’s birth mother for not being a responsible mother when making the judgment, because she not only left her daughter in the custody of the defendant who could not be properly taken care of, but she also failed to provide financial assistance and visit the girl regularly. "Abandoning" a daughter is no different.
The Commissioner of Police Siu Ze-yi said that the number of child abuse cases in Hong Kong has risen sharply and the situation is cause for concern.
(Photo by Liao Yanxiong)
The child abuse problem has deteriorated and it is urgent to deal with it
In recent years, affected by social events in recent years and social isolation measures under the new crown epidemic, children generally stay at home for an increase in time. The deteriorating economic environment will also cause pressure on adult family members or caregivers. As a result, there is naturally a greater chance of both parties. friction.
According to the Child Protection Information System of the Social Welfare Department, there were 279, 378 and 366 newly registered child abuse cases in the first three quarters of this year, an increase of 68%, 74% and 37% respectively compared with the same period last year. In addition, the police pointed out earlier A total of 971 child abuse cases were recorded in the first three quarters of this year. The number has also increased by 66% over previous years. This shows that the problem of child abuse in Hong Kong society has indeed become more serious.
Not long before the case was revealed, in May 2019, the Law Reform Commission issued a consultation document on "Causing or Allowing the Death of a Child or Vulnerable Adult or Suffering Serious Injury", suggesting that the penalty should be increased and the "offence of no protection" should be established. The report on such crimes was completed two months ago.
However, this subject was actually handed over to the Law Reform Commission by the government as early as August 2006. The subcommittee established at the end of the year had to go through 40 meetings in the next round before actually conducting consultations. It is unavoidable that people feel that it is just a hindrance. The rapid increase in child abuse cases was forced to hurriedly speed up the pace.
The Subcommittee on "Causing or Allowing Death of Children or Vulnerable Adults" of the Law Reform Commission recommended the establishment of a "crime without protection."
(Data Picture/Photographed by Zhang Meihua)
Prepared legislative proposals must be complemented to make up for the omissions
More importantly, the issue of child abuse cannot be dealt with solely by criminalizing related behaviors. After all, when it comes to the stage of punishing the abuser, the harm to children has already been constituted. Therefore, in addition to discussing the legislative details, in fact, It is also necessary to consider cooperating with other precautionary and protective measures. For example, the above-mentioned Law Reform Commission’s report opened a special chapter to briefly introduce "incidental measures and other observations by the respondent", which mentioned a number of supporting suggestions outside of the legislation, including adding Investing in resources for care services, strengthening the training of relevant professionals, providing universal education on the protection of children’s rights, and setting up an independent statutory committee for children’s affairs, etc.
Especially in terms of support and care, this child abuse case can also highlight individual areas that are easily overlooked. For example, the two defendants themselves also have several daughters who need to be taken care of by foster homes or children's homes after they are in prison. This situation is just right. Cite some organizations’ reminders that abusers and their families also need assistance.
As for the girl who was killed, it was not arranged in a foster home like a child from the original family, and just as the judge questioned it may reflect that the authorities did not intervene in a timely manner, indicating that there may be some loopholes in the current family foster care distribution policy.
There are too many child abuse incidents, and Hong Kong society must take this issue seriously.
As this Saturday (November 20) is "World Children's Day" again, we should act now to strengthen the protection of future masters.
Quickly formulate the "no protection crime" and improve the details to help the public understand that the 5-year-old girl and her brother have been abused for half a year. There is little intervention in the society. The child protection mechanism is insufficient. Special school child abuse cases are reproduced.