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Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse|Victims of Sexual Assault: Mandatory Reporting or Refusal to Help Advocate for Flexible Handling of Exemptions

2022-10-05T00:14:16.229Z


The government intends to amend the bill to introduce a mechanism for compulsorily reporting suspected child abuse or neglect, requiring social workers, teachers, medical professionals and other professionals to compulsorily report abuse cases involving persons under the age of 18, including children


The government intends to amend the bill to introduce a mechanism for mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect, requiring social workers, teachers, medical professionals and other professionals to compulsorily report abuse cases involving persons under the age of 18, including child sexual abuse, the proposed draft consultation period It ended last Friday (September 30).


Four of the “Feng Yulan” cases that are concerned about female sexual violence said that they were all sexually assaulted by their family members when they were under 10 years old. I thought "all girls all over the world will be like that".

By the time the problem was discovered, he was close to adulthood. However, considering that the report would lead to problems such as family tearing and distrust, he did not dare to ask for help.


The group of victims of sexual assault believed that the government should strengthen sex education for children, so that young children could think that sexual assault was an inappropriate behavior as soon as possible, and strengthen the support after the victims seek help. By adding exemption clauses, the case can be handled flexibly, otherwise it will only deter the victim.


Further reading:


Mandatory reporting of child abuse|Family sexual assault social worker helps the victim to report to the police but was reprimanded by the family

Bella (pseudonym) was sexually assaulted by her father when she was 11 years old, but she has been afraid to help her family, worried that she will not be trusted by her family and will be kicked out of the house.

At that time, she was also worried that her father's animal behavior would be exposed, or that other family members would be attacked. She was also worried that the family would lose one of the sources of income, which would increase the burden on her mother's shoulders. She had been silently enduring her father's behavior.

Before I was 16 or 15 years old, I didn't think this was a somewhat normal thing, because I thought girls all over the world would be like this, and I thought it was abnormal. At that time, it was already when I was 15 or 16 years old. At that time, I would be very nervous. What am I going to say?

I want to speak out?

Bella

It wasn't until she was 16 that she finally plucked up the courage to confide in a teacher she knew, who had been supporting her behind her back, including how to resist her father's next violence.

A year later, the teacher lobbied her to seek help from the school social worker: "I saw the first sentence of the social worker, and I asked her: 'What would you tell the school? What would you tell me? If that’s the case, I won’t say anything about it!” This was my biggest consideration, because from my point of view at the time, I didn’t mean that I should be well protected.”

Bella is fortunate that her social worker did not interfere with her family's situation at first, nor did she report it according to the mechanism. She only focused on the role of counseling, and only after she was fully prepared did she assist her in confessing to her mother and refer her to "Crisis" Intervention Center", temporarily pulling away from the family, leaving her father, helping to smooth the relationship between the family, and asking her mother to make a choice between her husband and her daughter.

The mother eventually decided to drive her father away, and Bella was able to go home to be reunited with her mother and sister after about a week of isolation.

She specifically mentioned that after she was admitted to the "crisis intervention center", the relevant social workers did not provide sufficient support. After closing the case with a few words of condolences, she felt that there was no way for her to seek help, and she could not really establish a good relationship and confidence with the social workers. She criticized the handling at that time. The SWD social worker of the case only focuses on efficiency and "solving" the case, rather than supporting the victim emotionally and in life.

Victim KIM: Complex relationship makes it difficult for her to report rashly

Another Kim (pseudonym), who has been sexually abused by her family since childhood for more than ten years, did not seek help from a psychologist at the University Health Department until her emotional breakdown at the university.

Looking back on the unbearable past events that happened nearly 20 years ago, she believes that the outside world cannot just assume the role of the perpetrator and imagine the family members who have violated them, emphasizing that the other party is also a family member or an acquaintance. , and then... Maybe after finishing you, the Zhong Department will teach you to do your homework..."

Kim went on to point out that this complex relationship, which is unimaginable for ordinary people, makes it even more difficult for them to rashly report, so as not to destroy this "normal" family with their own hands.

She emphasized that she did not want to go through the trauma experienced by other victims. Social workers or teachers must report the incident forcibly, and they must "until the age of 18" to announce it, or even simply move out on their own to avoid the problem.

Ann experienced domestic violence and sexual assault with her sister as a child.

(Photo by Huang Baoying)

Ann (pseudonym), who was raped and sexually assaulted with her sister since childhood, also said that only social workers or related agencies can follow the victim's pace and rhythm, so that the victim can feel respected and trusted, and can regain her autonomy. Only when they are empowered can they be encouraged to come out of the haze. Therefore, it is suggested that the government should allow non-governmental organizations specializing in sexual violence to be exempted and handle relevant cases flexibly.

Feng Yulan: In the past 3 years, there have been 107 minors seeking help and 40% did not choose to report the case

Feng Yulan Director-General Wang Xiurong said earlier that her agency has received 107 requests for help from minors in the past three years, of which 40% did not choose to report the case for help, reflecting that many sexual assault victims who voluntarily disclosed the incident wanted the incident to be kept secret, but not The authorities or other professionals intervene, let alone enter the judicial process.

Feng Yulan Director General Wang Xiurong.

(File photo/Photo by Chen Jiayuan)

Wang continued to point out that Feng Yulan was worried that after the "mandatory reporting" law came into effect, the desire of young people to seek help on their own would be greatly reduced, stressing that child sexual assault and child abuse are different situations, and cases may not have obvious scars, and they rely heavily on victims to seek help on their own and take care of them. At that time, people wished that "mandatory reporting" would greatly increase their psychological barrier, making it more difficult for institutions to expose relevant issues and lend a helping hand to victims.

Feng Yulan suggested that the mandatory reporting of child abuse cases should be reduced from under 18 to 16 years old, and an exemption clause should be added to protect the autonomy of victims. At the same time, if professionals are required not to report, they should be exempted from flexible processing.

When the Labour and Welfare Bureau responded to the inquiry, it did not respond positively to the number and types of comments received during the consultation period, and whether it would strengthen support and protection for victims of sexual assault. It only stated that the government would refer to stakeholders, including non-government entities. Organizations and relevant professional bodies, will consider whether it is necessary to make amendments to the preliminary legislative proposals in the consultation document, and will report the consultation results to the Legislative Council Welfare Services Panel within this year. It is expected that the consultation results will be submitted to the Legislative Council in the first half of next year. Bills will be submitted.

Compulsory Reporting of Child Abuse|Family Sexual Assault Social Worker Helps Report the Victim to Be Rebuked by Family Existing loopholes urge clear regulations on mandatory reporting standards and forced reporting of child abuse | Di Zhiyuan expects that the number of child abuse will increase after the legislation and urge the government to strengthen supporting child abuse | Po 5-year-old boy case|Compulsory reporting of child abuse plans to be submitted to the industry as early as the beginning of next year

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2022-10-05

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