176 suspected child abuse cases in 5 months after start of new reporting regime

Hong Kong authorities have recorded 176 reports of suspected child abuse involving 188 children in just over five months of the city’s new mandatory reporting regime, with sexual abuse accounting for the largest share of total victims.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han revealed on Thursday the number of reports logged by the end of last month since the requirement for 25 professions to report serious suspected child abuse took effect on January 20.

Out of the 188 children allegedly harmed in 176 reports under the mechanism, 83 were victims of sexual abuse, accounting for 44 per cent of the total.

This was followed by 64 children who were victims of physical abuse, 32 of neglect, seven of psychological abuse and two of multiple types of abuse.

Sun said the mandatory reporting requirement provided a more effective safety net for children, adding that authorities had conducted case screenings and taken appropriate follow-up action on all the reports.

“The number of reports for the first two quarters showed that there had been no large-scale abuse or false reporting since the mandatory reporting requirement took effect, reflecting the smooth implementation of the ordinance and the initial effectiveness of the government’s various publicity, training and support measures,” he said in a social media post.