Hong Kong has passed a child abuse reporting law, with legislation targeting 25 professions. Photo: Shutterstock Hong Kong lawmakers have cleared new legislation making it mandatory for workers across various sectors to report cases of suspected child abuse.
The Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Bill, passed by the Legislative Council after its second and third readings on Thursday, requires those in 25 professions to report to authorities suspected cases involving serious harm to children. It also defines a child as a person below the age of 18.
Professionals in social welfare, education and healthcare sectors who fail to report incidents involving physical, psychological and sexual abuse, as well as neglect, face up to a HK$50,000 (US$6,400) fine and three months in prison.
“The passage of this legislation has marked an important step for us to expand our child protection net, as we will have more than 100,000 professionals working with us to protect our children,” Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said.
Sun said the bill would come into effect 18 months after the date it was published in the gazette as an ordinance.
He said the government would offer training to the professionals covered under the bill during the time frame, adding that authorities had also set up advisory groups to formulate guidelines on mandatory reporting, which were expected to be completed during the second half of next year.
Authorities would also add more childcare facilities to cater to the increased number of reported cases and step up promotion of the new bill, Sun said.
The government presented the bill to Legco for scrutiny in June last year, after a string of child abuse scandals sparked public outrage and calls for better protection for youngsters.
Under the bill, the 25 professions who are required to report abuse include childcare workers, social workers, teachers, medical practitioners, therapists, psychologists, pharmacists, midwives and others.
These professionals must file reports as soon as they are aware of suspected cases where a child is suffering serious harm or at real risk of it during the course of their work.
The bill specifies different types of serious harm, including types endangering physical health or life, such as loss of limb, internal organ injuries and bone fractures, and those affecting emotional well-being, such as mental derangement and prolonged psychological trauma.
Sexual abuse including coercing or enticing a child into rape, incest, buggery, sexual intercourse or any act of gross indecency also constitutes serious harm.
Cases of neglect include failing to offer necessities for maintaining a child’s life or health, or exposing a child to a situation or environment that endangers the youngster’s life or health.
Those who fail to comply with the reporting requirement will be prosecuted under a two-tier penalty system. Under less severe circumstances, prosecution could proceed through summary proceedings with the penalty level limited to a fine of HK$50,000.
For cases with more severe circumstances or consequences, prosecution could proceed by way of indictment, allowing the court to impose fines and imprisonment of up to three months.
The penalty mechanism also applies to those who inhibit or obstruct making of reports or disclose the identity of specified professionals who made them.
The bill also allows professionals to use a reasonable excuse for not making a report as a defence.
Lawmakers on Thursday voiced their support for the legislation on mandatory reporting, which they said could improve the protection of children from harm.
The debate also focused on the maximum penalty against offenders.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun proposed raising the maximum sentence from three months to one year.
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“A good bill must basically comply with two principles – first, the maximum penalty has a deterrent effect, and second, a prison sentence is enough to make a person learn from the experience and reflect deeply to not commit the crime again,” he said.
But several other legislators said an imprisonment of up to three months in jail was a balanced approach, enough to prompt relevant professionals to report abuse. A harsher punishment could lead to false or excessive reporting out of fear of breaching the law, they argued.
“Increasing the maximum imprisonment to one year is too harsh on professionals … which can lead to a large number of false and excessive reports, and increase the burden on law enforcement officers, making it difficult for the legislation to be effectively implemented,” lawmaker Stanley Li Sai-wing said.
Li also called on the government to put in place a series of supporting measures, including offering training to professionals and increasing emergency childcare respite services.
Hong Kong has seen successive child abuse cases in recent years.
One of the latest cases involved a nine-month-old girl allegedly abused by a babysitter in January. The child suffered a blood clot on the brain and fell into a coma, and police arrested the 33-year-old woman, who was recruited under a government-funded “community nanny” childcare scheme.
The Child Protection Registry of the Social Welfare Department recorded 411 new child abuse cases during the first three months of this year. Among them, 164 cases involved physical harm, followed by 146 of sexual abuse, 85 of neglect, 11 of multiple abuse and five of psychological harm.
A total of 1,457 cases were recorded over the whole of last year.