A survey by an NGO has found only one-third of Hong Kong parents recognise that constantly belittling their children – such as always calling them lazy or stupid – or displaying emotional detachment can constitute child abuse.
The Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong released the results of its survey on Sunday. The NGO highlighted a critical gap in parental understanding and underscored an urgent need for more education.
The findings come ahead of new mandatory reporting laws. The Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance will take effect on January 20 next year. It will require 25 occupations in the education, welfare and medical sectors to report suspected cases of child abuse – including physical, psychological and sexual – and negligence.
Those convicted of an offence will face a maximum punishment of three months in jail and a HK$50,000 (around US$6,430) fine.
The survey polled more than 2,500 parents of children aged below 18 in the NGO’s service and school network between July and November last year. Almost 70 per cent of the parents either said they had never heard about the coming law or were unaware of its details.
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A quick quiz by the NGO revealed that as many as 70 per cent had little awareness of psychological abuse. In contrast, more than half of respondents could correctly identify most physical and sexual abuse and negligence behaviours.
Only 30 per cent of respondents knew that persistently calling children “lazy” and “stupid”, shaming them for their physical characteristics or emotional detachment could constitute psychological abuse.
Only about 40 per cent knew that constantly yelling at their children, limiting their chance to interact with friends and family members, and threatening to disown them could also get them in trouble for child abuse.
YMCA coordinating secretary Phoebe See Man-yan said Hongkongers’ understanding of child abuse was still quite limited and superficial, which needed to be addressed through more awareness education.
“Unlike physical and sexual abuse, psychological abuse and negligence remain an abstract concept to many as they leave no physical scars on a child,” she said.
“More promotion needs to be done, but this responsibility should not rest solely on the government – every stakeholder in society must come together to raise awareness on this issue.”
See emphasised the importance of early intervention and professional support, particularly for Asian parents influenced by their own experiences of abuse or strict parenting.
She also noted that families with special educational needs children or financial difficulties, and new arrivals faced a higher risk of child abuse.
Help! My mother neglects and criticises me. How do I ask her to treat me better?
The survey also exposed misconceptions about reporting responsibilities, with around 25 to 40 per cent of parents mistakenly identifying police officers, witnesses, relatives and friends as those mandated to report suspected child abuse cases.
For the category of physical abuse and neglect, more than 50 per cent of parents also commonly misconstrued some behaviours as acceptable, for example, forcing children to stand for a long time as a punishment and making medications accessible to a child.
Notably, 20 per cent of respondents did not identify “hitting with an object” as child abuse.
Meanwhile, the survey found that more than half of respondents never sought help over parenting challenges – those who did mainly talked to their friends and their child’s school.
Hong Kong recorded 1,504 new child abuse cases last year. Among the cases, 40 per cent suffered from physical abuse, followed by 35 per cent from sexual abuse. About 43, or 2.9 per cent, were subjected to multiple kinds of abuse.
Lawyer Albert So Man-kit said he expected that after more professionals were mandated to report cases of abuse, some parents might fall foul of the ordinance by psychologically attacking or neglecting their children.
He cited examples of children under 16 being left at home alone while their parents went to Shenzhen for shopping and some young pupils being allowed to go home alone after school because no one was available to pick them up.
“Most parents mean no harm to their children. Some are resentful and resort to violence simply because their children cannot meet their expectations,” he said.
“Those parents might breach the law inadvertently because they never considered themselves as abusers.”
So stressed that although not everyone would be required to report cases under the new law, they still had a moral responsibility to safeguard children’s rights and report suspected cases.
