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Following is a written reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, to a question by the Hon Cyd Ho in the Legislative Council today (October 27):
Question:
Regarding cases of family violence handled by the Family Court, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of cases of battered spouses handled by the Family Court in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by gender of the battered;
(b) of the number of various custody orders granted for cases of battered spouses involving minor children handled by the Family Court in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by gender of the battered and the batterer using the table below;
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of Male Female Male Female Male Female
the battered
/batterer
Number of cases
where the
battered was
granted child
custody
Number of cases
where the
batterer was
granted child
custody
Number of cases
where joint
custody was
granted to both
parties
Number of cases
where neither
party was granted
child custody
(c) whether it knows the principles or basis on which the Court grants joint custody orders for battered spouse cases involving child custody, and whether the Court has different factors of consideration in the light of the gender of the battered;
(d) among the cases in (b) where the battered was granted child custody, of the number of cases where child access was granted to the batterer by the Family Court each year, with a breakdown by gender of the batterer;
(e) of the information (using the table below) on the various access arrangements under the child access orders in (d);
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of Male Female Male Female Male Female
the batterer
Number of cases
where visits by
the batterers
were arranged
by social workers
Number of cases
where visits
by the batterers
were arranged:
(i) more than one
visit per week
(ii) visit per
week
(iii) visit every
two weeks
(iv) one visit per
month
(v) less than one
visit per month
(vi) other visit
arrangements
(f) of the information (using the table below) on the maintenance orders granted for cases involving battered spouses by the Family Court in each of the past three years; and
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of Male Female Male Female Male Female
the battered
Number of cases
where the
battered applied
for maintenance
payments
Number of cases
where the
battered applied
for maintenance
payments of
one dollar
(g) among the cases in (f), of the number of cases each year involving default in maintenance payments, statistics on cases where legal proceedings have been/are being instituted for recovering maintenance arrears and other relevant statistics (using the table below)?
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of Male Female Male Female Male Female
maintenance
payee
Number of cases
where the
maintenance payee
was defaulted
maintenance
payments
Number of cases
involving a
judgment summons
hearing
Number of cases
where an
application was
made for an order
to attach the
maintenance
payer's income
Number of attachment
of income orders
granted
Number of other
cases involving
"enforcement"
proceedings
Reply:
President,
The Administration has consulted the Judiciary on the questions and has received the following information and response-
(a) There is no definition in the Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Violence Ordinance (Cap. 189) (previously known as the Domestic Violence Ordinance) ("the Ordinance") in relation to what is considered as "battered spouse". There is also no specific definition of "family violence". Nonetheless, the Ordinance provides that an application for an injunction can be made to the Family Court under its sections 3, 3A and 3B if the applicant or a specified minor has been molested by the spouse or former spouse of the applicant; a relative of the applicant; or where the applicant is a party to a cohabitation relationship, the other party to that relationship. The following is the number of cases where applications have been made under the above provisions in the past three years -
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of Male Female Male Female Male Female
the applicant
No. of 1 15 4 18 2 26
applications
for injunction
Total 16 22 28
Among the above, the number of cases where injunctions were granted is as follows-
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of Male Female Male Female Male Female
the applicant
No. of 1 13 3 15 2 24
cases where
injunctions
were granted
Total 14 18 26
As can be seen above, not all applications for injunction have been granted and even if injunction orders are granted, direct inference cannot be drawn as to whether the orders are related to spouse battering or family violence.
(b) For questions (b), (d) to (g), the information is not readily available as the Judiciary does not normally keep the statistics on the outcome of judicial proceedings. However, having regard to the relatively small number of cases involved, the Judiciary has managed to collate manually the figures as below by going through the relevant case files.
Among the cases in (a) above where minor children were involved, the number of various custody orders granted is as follows -
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of Male Female Male Female Male Female
"applicant"*/
"respondent"*
No. of cases 0 11 4 9 1 16
where sole
custody was
granted to the
"applicant"
No. of cases 0 0 0 0 0 0
where sole
custody was
granted to the
"respondent"
No. of cases 1 3 2
where joint
custody was
granted to both
parties
No. of cases 0 0 0
where custody was
granted to
neither party
* The "applicant" and "respondent" refer to the parties in respect of the injunction applications in (a).
(c) In deciding whether "joint custody" is appropriate in a case, the court will consider the general principles set out in section 3 of the Guardianship of Minors Ordinance (Cap. 13), and shall have regard to the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration. In having such regard, the court shall give due consideration to the wishes of the minor if, having regard to the age and understanding of the minor and to the circumstances of the case, it is practicable to do so; and any material information including any report of the Director of Social Welfare. Further, as set out in section 3 of Cap. 13, the court shall not take into consideration whether, from any other point of view, the claim of the father is superior to that of the mother, or vice versa.
(d) Among the cases in (b) above where child custody was granted to the "applicant", the number of cases where child access was granted to the "respondent" is as follows -
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of Male Female Male Female Male Female
"respondent"
No. of cases 11 0 9 4 16 1
where access
was granted
to the
"respondent"
(e) Among the cases in (d) above, the number of cases where visits by the "respondents" were arranged by social workers is as follows -
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of the Male Female Male Female Male Female
"respondent"
No. of cases 2 0 3 3 6 0
where visits
by the
"respondents"
were arranged
by social
workers
The Judiciary does not have the information on other access arrangements.
(f) Among the cases in (a) above, the information on maintenance orders granted is as follows -
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of the Male Female Male Female Male Female
"applicant"
No. of cases 0 5 1 4 0 8
where the
"applicant"
applied for
maintenance
payments
No. of cases 0 8 0 5 0 7
where the
"applicant"
applied for
maintenance
payments
of one dollar
(g) Among the cases in (f) above, the number of cases involving default in maintenance payments, statistics on cases where legal proceedings have been/are being instituted for recovering maintenance arrears and other relevant statistics are as follows -
Year 2007 2008 2009
Gender of the Male Female Male Female Male Female
maintenance
payee
No. of cases 2 0 0 0 1 0
where the
maintenance
payee was
defaulted
maintenance
payments
No. of cases 1 0 0 0 1 0
involving a
Judgment Summons
hearing
No. of 0 0 0 0 0 0
applications for
Attachment of
Income Order
No. of 0 0 0 0 0 0
Attachment of
Income Orders
granted
No. of cases 1 0 0 0 0 0
involving
other enforcement
proceedings
Ends/Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Issued at HKT 13:29
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