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Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Kwok-che and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (January 7):
Question:
The CEASE Crisis Centre, which is a crisis intervention and support centre operating on a pilot basis commissioned by the Social Welfare Department, provides crisis support and shelter service for victims of domestic violence or sexual violence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the respective numbers of cases involving domestic violence and sexual violence received by the Centre since commencement of services in March 2007, and in respect of each category:
(i) the respective quarterly numbers of cases broken down by gender and age, type of referring agents and the type of violence;
(ii) the quarterly numbers of victims who received outreaching service; and
(iii) the quarterly numbers of victims who were offered accommodation;
(b) as the Labour and Welfare Bureau stated in its paper submitted to the Panel on Welfare Services of this Council in October last year that the services of the Centre "have proven to be essential, and the mode of delivery was considered effective", of the justifications for such a statement; and
(c) whether it will study the effectiveness of the services provided by the Centre; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) The Social Welfare Department (SWD) commissioned the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) to operate the Multi-purpose Crisis Intervention and Support Centre, i.e. the CEASE Crisis Centre (the Centre), on a three-year pilot basis with funding support of $20 million from the Lotteries Fund. The Centre provides comprehensive support to victims of sexual violence (SV) and individuals/families facing domestic violence (DV) or in crisis.
The Centre commenced operation on March 26, 2007, providing a 24-hour hotline and crisis intervention/immediate outreaching service for SV victims. It also handles elder abuse cases after SWD's office hours and links the victims to the relevant health care or social service units for suitable services and follow-up. Since May 19, 2008, the Centre started to provide short-term residential services (with a capacity of 80 places) for SV and DV victims who need temporary accommodation, as well as individuals or families in crisis.
The requested statistics are set out in the Annex.
(b) Through close collaboration with related professionals and service units, the operation of the Centre has been smooth since its inception in March 2007.
Under the new service model, a designated social worker will be assigned as "case manager" to provide immediate support and follow-up service for the SV victims, including emotional support, counselling, reporting to the Police, arrangement of medical treatment and forensic examination, as well as escorting and accompanying the victims to go through all necessary procedures. There is also a wide coverage of support network throughout the territory. Irrespective of the contact points of the victims, designated social workers can provide 24-hour outreaching service. With enhanced coordination of service and co-operation by different departments and service units, the new service model provides the victims with a customer-oriented and one-stop service. It enables victims to receive service and go through all relevant procedures in a convenient, safe, confidential and supportive environment, thus minimising the need for the victims to repeat their unpleasant experience.
The Centre is required under the service agreement to collect feedbacks from its service users. As at September 30, 2008, 100% of the service users indicated satisfaction upon receiving live-in/crisis intervention or support services provided by the Centre. 94% of live-in service users showed enhanced resilience in face of immediate crisis/adversity upon leaving the Centre. The positive feedback from service users reflects that the implementation of the new service model and the establishment of the Centre have enhanced the service provision for the targeted users.
Besides, SWD organised two sharing sessions in June 2007 and December 2008 respectively to collect stakeholders' views on the implementation of the new service model and the operation of the Centre, including the Police, Hospital Authority, Department of Health, designated social workers of SWD and the Centre itself. Professionals involved in support services for SV victims considered that the new service model and the services provided by the Centre could effectively address the need of the victims.
(c) Based on the output and outcome indicators under the service agreement, SWD will continue to closely monitor the performance and effectiveness of the Centre. A review will be conducted upon the completion of the pilot project by end-2009.
Ends/Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:27
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