Hong Kong professionals mandated to report suspected child abuse cases under a new law taking effect on Tuesday are largely ready, but some have said challenges remain in working with parents from different cultural backgrounds and detecting online crimes targeting youngsters.
Under the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance, more than 100,000 people across 25 professions in the social welfare, education and medical sectors are required to report suspected maltreatment of those aged under 18, or face penalties of up to three months in jail and a fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,410).
Dr Maple Lau Siu-kwan, director of the NGO Against Child Abuse, said overseas experience suggested a potential three- to sixfold spike in abuse reports, underscoring the importance of allocating more resources to handle new cases.
“With a stronger safety net and child protection awareness, we expect more previously hidden cases to surface,” Lau said.
Western Australia passed such a law in 2009, and abuse reports increased by 3.7 times a year, while Victoria state recorded a sixfold increase over two decades after its initial mandate in 1993.
The Hong Kong government earlier said it had increased emergency places in residential childcare services by one-third – to around 400 for those aged below six, and 70 more for those aged above six – and had set up six child protection teams.
However, the NGO found that some professionals still struggled with the concept of child abuse during training.
The government previously issued a 300-page bilingual guide with decision trees and case-based scenarios, specifying the definition of child abuse and thresholds for reporting.
“We have seen people arriving at different conclusions when reviewing the same case scenario, using the decision trees provided by the government, because they interpret the risk a child is facing differently,” Lau said.
She suggested professionals call the Social Welfare Department’s hotline for advice when in doubt.
Many school workers told the Post that child protection had always been part of their duties and the new rules merely reinforced and formalised this collective responsibility. But they foresaw challenges in reporting cases and supporting families in the aftermath.
A veteran social worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said filing a report meant accompanying the child to hospital, managing the emotional reactions of parents – often the perpetrators – finding emergency shelter, and coordinating with various parties to devise a welfare plan for the family.
He said finding a shelter when the child did not require hospitalisation could be difficult, especially in cases involving multiple siblings.
“Residential childcare services exist, but they are not always immediately available. It’s important to have better coordination to ensure a stable supply of beds,” he said.
“In some extreme cases, we couldn’t find a shelter right away, so the child had to return home after the perpetrator stayed elsewhere.”
He noted that while physical abuse was relatively easy to detect, online abuse – such as grooming and sextortion – posed growing challenges.
“In the past, the perpetrators could be easily identified; they could be a neighbour or a schoolmate. But now, with the vastness of the online world, it could be any stranger.”
He emphasised the importance of building deep trust with students so they felt safe enough to seek help.
Ms Chan*, a teacher and counselling mistress with more than 10 years’ experience at a secondary school, said conflicts could arise when pupils declined help – which was quite common – but educators had no choice as they were fulfilling their legal duty.
“Unlike young children, teenagers often feel helpless about this. They don’t believe interventions will really change the situation because of past experience,” she said.
“Some were also concerned about being removed from their homes and how to survive on their own.”
She said it was therefore important for teachers to help students understand that reporting abuse was an act of protection meant to break the cycle.
“Students do not always intend to seek help; they could just be venting their problems to teachers. But when it touches the law, we must report it, and there is no room for refusal,” she said.
“They must understand they aren’t ‘troublemakers’ for speaking up.”
Ms Cheung*, an assistant principal with more than 30 years’ experience, said cross-border students – those living in mainland China but attending schools in Hong Kong – were particularly vulnerable, but interventions could be difficult.
“Mainland parents have their own ways of disciplining their children, which is very different from those in Hong Kong,” she said.
“Parents all care about their children, but it’s more common for them to use corporal punishment, which is more culturally accepted on the mainland.”
Cheung said she had seen a cross-border student who was severely abused by his parents and hospitalised for a while. However, the parents, as legal guardians, later sent the child to a boarding school on the mainland and did not bear legal responsibility for the abuse.
“The parent did not intend to harm the child and wanted to discipline him, but found out it’s best if they maintained some distance,” she said.
“Nevertheless, social workers and teachers from Hong Kong could not follow up on the child any more.”
She hoped the authorities could ensure better protection for these children under the new rules.
In contrast, registered nurse Cyrus Lau Hoi-man said hospital workers appeared calm about the new rules.
“When a child is taken to A&E to treat the flu, we will not do a thorough body check for signs of abuse ... unless signs of abuse are obvious and there are reasonable grounds to suspect abuse is involved, such as a child being scalded by hot water,” Lau said.
“This time, the law covers many healthcare staff, though not all of them face patients frequently. It should strengthen child protection from a policymaking perspective.”
The healthcare professions covered by the law included pharmacists, chiropractors, midwives, dental hygienists and others.
According to the latest Social Welfare Department figures, 1,504 child abuse cases were recorded in 2024, up from 1,457 in 2023 and 1,439 in 2022.
*Name changed at interviewee’s request. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
