The non-governmental organization Against Child Abuse released an annual report on Tuesday, noting child abuse in Hong Kong is on the rise, and the reported cases were just tip of the iceberg. The organization revealed they received 1,289 calls from April 2017 to March 2018, wherein they handled about 214 suspected cases of child abuse, which increased compared to last year with 198 cases.
Donna Wong Chui-ling, the acting director of the organization, said many cases of child abuse were still hidden and their report only shows the tip of the iceberg. Among those 214 suspected cases, about 216 children were reportedly involved aged between three and 11 years old - 25 involved neglecting, 19 suspected to be sexual abuse, 131 involved physical abuse, and the rest fell in other categories.
According to the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong recorded several child abuse cases and cruelty this year. For instance, a five-year-old girl died earlier this year after being poked in the chest with scissors and repeatedly thrown at a ceiling. Then, last September, a 26-year-old father was sent to jail for over six years for shaking and slapping his newborn daughter.
The report also revealed the increased of alleged child psychological abuse. Wong noted that neglecting, insulting, or shouting a child could make them feel useless and unloved, constituting to abuse. Some people might not immediately recognize this as a form of abuse, but it could make a psychological impact on the child.
Also, the report further pointed out that the majority of the suspected abusers were family members - 131 involved either the mother or father of the child, while both parents involved in 28 cases. Wong said many of serious physical abuse usually started on light corporal punishment such as smacking, so she said such punishments should be banned, including at home. Corporal punishment is also in breach of human rights, as well as children's rights, and it is not an effective way to teach kids.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights launched a child safeguarding charter on Tuesday to ensure churches, institutions, clubs, schools, and agencies working for children do no harm. Priscilla Lui Tsang Sun-kai, the chairwoman of the committee, said the government should take the lead by operating guidelines, writing proactive child policies, and making plans to put effective statutory monitoring mechanism in place.
The UK-based director of Plan International, Mariama Deschamps, was quite "shocked" because the charter was being launched in Hong Kong just now. She said that in the UK, a person could not work with children or young people as an organization if they don't have a child safeguarding policy. She also added that many organizations, including youth clubs and schools, have that policy - not only in the UK but in other countries as well.
