Invisible. 上｜There is a problem in Hong Kong society behind the shocking change of "Tongleju" to "child abuse"

At the end of December last year, the “Tong Le Ju”, a residential institution for young children under the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children, broke the scandal of abusing nearly 30 children by several employees. The police set up a special team to examine a total of 46,000 hours of CCTV footage. On January 16), 16 persons involved in the case have been arrested and charged with one count of abuse or neglect of a child or juvenile in their custody.

This is the third serious case of child abuse that shocked the society in recent years. In 2018, a 5-year-old girl was tortured to death by her father and stepmother for a long time.

But when tragedy recurs, society can’t have sympathy without reflection—why do the caregivers who should protect children the most often become abusers who damage children physically and mentally?

What's wrong with our vigilance and education concept?

A serious child abuse incident was revealed in Tong Le Ju, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children, involving a large number of people. As of January 16, 16 people involved have been arrested.

Stern, director-general of Save the Children Hong Kong, pointed out that the severe child abuse incidents reflected a major flaw in the organization's recruitment and training mechanism.

(Photo by Gong Jiasheng)

Huang Cuiling, director-general of the Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse, once told "Hong Kong 01" that many child abuse cases, especially neglected children, come from high-risk families, such as parents who abuse drugs and have emotional problems.

(File photo/Photo by Zheng Zifeng)

"Blindness" thematic series:

Invisible.

上｜There is a problem in Hong Kong society behind the shocking change of "Tongleju" to "child abuse"

Invisible.

Next｜Establishing the belief in "protecting children" starts with prohibiting corporal punishment

For details, please read the 300th issue of "Hong Kong 01" Electronic Weekly (January 17, 2022)