The SUN HK : Govt unveils bill making reporting of child abuse mandatory

Members of the child's household are not compelled to report abuse cases (Unsplash photo)

Professionals dealing with children will be held liable for not reporting any child abuse case under a proposal disclosed by the government today, May 31.

Those who will be held liable include social workers, teachers, doctors and nurses who could face up to three months in jail and fined a maximum of $50,000 if they fail to report suspected abuse of a minor, or children under the age of 18.

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The bill will be introduced in the Legislative Council for first and second readings on June 14.

Notably exempted from the measure are foreign domestic workers and any member of the household in which the abused child is living.

Under the existing system of voluntary reporting, both family members of the victims and relevant professionals are encouraged, but not required to report suspected abuse cases, which experts said prevented early identification and intervention to protect vulnerable children.

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The move to come up with a mandatory system of reporting abuse cases was prompted by a recent rash of heartbreaking cases, including the death of a five-year-old at the hands of his mother in September last year.

More recently, three staff of charitable organization Po Leung Kuk were charged and found guilty of assaulting six toddlers in their care.

But the problem has been reported to have gotten widespread in recent years. Between the years 2020 and 2021, for example, the number of reported abuse cases had done up by 45%.

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Even then, Hong Kong’s Child Protection Registry has said that for every abuse case, 99 go unreported.

According to the statement released by the Labour Bureau, professional practitioners in the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors are designated as mandated reporters.

“They must make a report as soon as practicable if there is a reasonable ground to suspect that a child has been suffering or is at real risk of suffering serious harm,” said the statement, adding that the bill will also provide legal defence and protection for the mandated reporters.

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The government said it will also provide training for mandated reporters and draw up a guide to assist them in identifying target cases for early identification, reporting and intervention, as well as reducing over-reporting.

In addition, more child care places will be provided when necessary, and public education and publicity activities to raise public awareness of child protection will be provided.

The three sectors covered by the bill are welfare, education, and medical and healthcare. Those subject to mandatory reporting will include social and childcare workers, their supervisors and heads of children’s care homes.

The proposed measure will also apply to teachers and wardens at boarding schools, doctors, nurses, dentists, Chinese medicine practitioners, speech therapists and educational psychologists, among others in the healthcare field.

They will be required to make a report if they reasonably suspect a child faces serious harm or is at risk because of abuse.

But under the proposals, professionals will be allowed to wait if they believe a delay in reporting will better protect the child. They are also not compelled to report a case if another person has already done so.

The identity of those filing reports of suspected abuse will be kept confidential. They will also be entitled to immunity from civil or criminal proceedings and other professional consequences if they made a report in good faith.