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LCQ10: Elder abuse cases
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    Following is a question by the Hon Abraham Shek and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (June 20):

Question:

     Given Hong Kong's aging population, the number of cases of abuse of the elderly continues to increase.  According to the Central Information System on Elder Abuse Cases, 522 cases were newly reported in the period from January to December 2006.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)  of the number of newly reported cases of abuse of the elderly in the period from January to March 2007, broken down by the types of abuse, the victims' gender, relationship between victims and abusers, and victims' residential districts;

(b)  of the measures taken or to be taken by the Administration to encourage and assist the victims concerned in reporting their cases and seeking help; and

(c)  whether the Administration will consider stepping up education for the elderly in need in this regard, including enhancing publicity on the contingency measures and assistance available to them?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a)  The raw data of elder abuse cases for the period from January to March 2007 are still under processing at the moment.  Verified statistics will be available around August.  As to the elder abuse cases in 2006 (i.e. 522 cases), the relevant breakdowns are shown in the Annex.

(b)  To encourage and assist victims to report their cases and seek help, to enhance community awareness, to cultivate an environment to respect-the-elders and promote neighbourhoodliness, the following measures will continue to be implemented:

(i)   since 2002, we have launched an annual Publicity Campaign on Strengthening Families and Combating Violence, with elder abuse being one of the core themes.  Under this Campaign, we organize activities such as district programmes on prevention of elder abuse, including seminars for professionals and local organisations, support for vulnerable elder groups, and home visits to elders by volunteers, etc;  

(ii)  we will further enhance the outreaching services for elders who do not use mainstream elderly services;

(iii) to encourage elders to seek help early, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) will continue to conduct training to enhance frontline staff's sensitivity and skills in detecting and managing elder abuse.  A territory-wide workshop will be organized to involve elderly service providers to identify effective strategies at district level to involve community stakeholders for early identification of elder abuse cases.

     Separately, it is noted that the majority of the reported elder abuse cases involved abusers who have spousal relationships with the victims.  The Domestic Violence Ordinance (DVO) currently provides injunctive protection to victims molested by their spouses or cohabitants.  The Administration will propose amendments to the Ordinance to extend its coverage to include persons molested by their former spouses or cohabitants, by their sons/daughters, grandsons/granddaughters and such other relatives as specified in the amendment bill.  In sum, the DVO once amended will extend protection to a comprehensive range of domestic violence victims including those suffering from elder abuse.

(c)  In 2007-2008, the Administration will step up efforts in empowering and educating elders to understand their rights as well as means of seeking help.  Funding has been set aside for SWD districts to organize training and educational programmes on this front.  Besides, promotional material such as animation CD, practical self-help tips, roadside boards, TV API and leaflets on prevention of elder abuse, will continue to be available for distribution to the public.

     In conjunction with the Elderly Commission, we will continue to enhance publicity and public education to promote a sense of worthiness among elders, create a social environment of caring for the elders and inter-generation harmony.  For example, another Golden Age TV series will be produced by RTHK.  The Opportunities for the Elderly Project will also focus on the message of "Respecting Elders by Maintaining Family Harmony and Enriching Golden Years by Nurturing our Life" in 2007-2008.

Ends/Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:50

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