‘No room for refusal’: Hong Kong professionals brace for tough calls under child abuse law

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.