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Following is a question by Dr Hon Elizabeth Quat and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (November 5):
Question:
According to the statistics from the Social Welfare Department (SWD), there were 2 044 newly reported spouse/cohabitant battering cases in the first half of this year. Projecting from that, the number of cases for the whole year will exceed the 3 836 cases of last year. Also, the number of cases of last year rose by 40.3 per cent from the 2 734 cases of the preceding year. It is therefore evident that there is an upward trend in the number of family violence cases. Meanwhile, last year saw 692 family violence cases involving male victims, i.e. 18 per cent of the total number of cases, which was an increase of over 60 per cent from the 434 cases of the preceding year, indicating that the problem of family violence involving male victims has also worsened. Some social workers dedicated to handling family violence cases have pointed out that, given the extremely tight supply of places in the refuge centres that provide temporary accommodation for family violence victims, provision of additional beds and over-enrolment occur from time to time. They are also of the view that as the Anti-Violence Programme and the Batterer Intervention Programme implemented by SWD have low participation rates, they cannot effectively prevent the problem of family violence from occurring or deteriorating. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will provide additional resources for the social service organizations concerned, so as to assist them in providing more temporary accommodation places for family violence victims;
(2) as some social workers have indicated that male victims of family violence cases generally do not proactively seek help, and that it is relatively more difficult to identify these victims because they are mainly subjected to psychological abuse instead of physical abuse (the latter form of abuse can result in noticeable injuries), whether the authorities have studied how these male victims can be more effectively identified so that assistance can be provided for them; if they have conducted such studies, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) of the respective numbers of participants in the Anti-Violence Programme and the Batterer Intervention Programme in each of the years since 2010; whether the authorities have reviewed and improved the coverage and effectiveness of these programmes; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question raised by Dr Hon Elizabeth Quat is as follows:
(1) At present, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) subvents non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to operate five refuge centres for women offering a total of 260 temporary residential places for women suffering from domestic violence. As there has been an increase in the average utilisation of refuge centres in 2013-14, the refuge centres have exercised flexibility in admission with a view to meeting the service demand as far as possible. Moreover, there is a mutual referral mechanism among the five refuge centres to ensure that women and children in need will not be denied access to the service owing to shortage of places in the refuge centre which the victim approaches. SWD will continue to closely monitor and review the utilisation of the refuge centres and consider increasing the residential places of refuge centres when necessary.
(2) According to the Central Information System on Spouse/Cohabitant Battering Cases and Sexual Violence Cases, the majority of newly reported spouse/cohabitant battering cases involved physical abuse, accounting for 83.6 per cent of the total number of cases for the period January to June 2014. Physical abuse was also the most common form of abuse for cases with male victims, accounting for 85.5 per cent of such cases, while another 10.2 per cent of the cases involved psychological abuse.
SWD has set up 11 Family and Child Protective Services Units (FCPSUs) as specialised units to centrally handle problems of spouse/cohabitant battering. When receiving referrals from the police or other persons, designated social workers will contact the victims (including male victims) and provide outreaching and crisis intervention services so as to minimise the trauma brought by the abuse incident to the victims and their family members.
Apart from the services provided by SWD, NGOs (such as Po Leung Kuk and Harmony House) have also set up hotline service for men in order to get in touch with men suffering from domestic violence more effectively. The hotline service aims at rendering timely counselling and support to emotionally distressed men so as to assist them in finding their way out of predicament and fulfilling their roles effectively in family/partner relationship and to promote a harmonious life.
To help problem families and domestic violence victims (including male victims) lacking motivation to seek assistance, SWD has launched the Family Support Programme in FCPSUs, Integrated Family Service Centres and Medical Social Service Units since 2007. Social workers and volunteers provide service information to hidden families, and proactively approach and identify needy families through promotional street booths, outreaching, visits and networking with local departments/organisations, etc. with a view to further strengthening the support for and providing appropriate service to disadvantaged families which lack motivation to seek assistance.
In addition, SWD has launched a number of public education publicity campaigns in recent years. For instance, a new series of docu-drama "The Moment 2" covering the issues of spousal abuse and child sexual abuse, etc. was broadcast from May to July 2013. One of the episodes was about the situation of a male victim of spousal abuse.
(3) Currently, SWD is implementing two psycho-educational programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence, namely the Anti-Violence Programme (AVP) and Batterer Intervention Programme (BIP).
Participants of AVP are mandated by the Court to attend the programme in accordance with the Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Violence Ordinance. Between April 2010 and September 2014, one perpetrator was referred by the Court and completed the programme. SWD has been promoting AVP through publicity and training so that applicants of injunction orders, judges handling the cases, legal professionals and frontline social workers can understand more about AVP.
On the other hand, participation in BIP is voluntary. BIP helps those who have used violence in intimate relationship to change through a series of 13 sessions of psycho-educational group activities. Between 2006 and September 2014, 744 perpetrators (301 perpetrators between April 2010 and September 2014) had participated in BIP. BIP helps the participants stop their violent behaviour and improve the relationship with their partners. SWD will continue to actively promote this programme.
Since not every perpetrator will be mandated by the Court to attend AVP or voluntarily participate in BIP which is of longer duration, SWD launched the Educational Programme on Stopping Domestic Violence in October 2013 to provide another service alternative to those perpetrators who are in need and willing to receive short-term counselling. The programme is currently run by NGOs. Through brief and focused education, the programme provides the participants with basic and practical knowledge and skills on anger management and conflict resolution with their spouses/cohabitants. Up till September 2014, a total of 137 participants had completed the programme.
Ends/Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Issued at HKT 14:58
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