Defining child abuse in Hong Kong

Abstract

Definitions of child abuse are culturally driven. Hong Kong, with a predominantly Chinese population, has managed to eradicate much of the societal abuse that children suffer elsewhere in Asia. Professional and government attention has now shifted to child abuse and neglect within the family. The paper, based on interviews with key professionals. analysis of policy documents and practice records examines traditional Chinese parent‐child relationships. the status of parental authority and corporal punishment and changes in contemporary Hong Kong family life. It goes on to outline the development of responses to child abuse in Hong Kong, some of the dilemmas that professionals face in defining abuse and areas for future research.

A study of non-government child welfare services in Taiwan focused on children in need of child welfare service intervention

“…Traditionally, some East Asian countries, such as Taiwan, China, Singapore and Hong Kong, are influenced by Confucianism, with a strong emphasis on family responsibility and support for taking care of children (Desai, 2008;Guo, 2007;O'Brian & Lau, 1995;Yu, 2012). In…”

“…Indeed, most people will agree that children are seen as the ‗private property' of the family. In the past, the public has had a high tolerance of minor corporal punishment from parents who can demonstrate a good intention of establishing discipline unless there is a severe injury, normally a physical injury (Kwok & Tam, 2005;O'Brian & Lau, 1995). Following the increasing consideration of the child's rights by the public in East Asia, traditional family values have had to meet huge challenges in terms of parents' authority and ways of parenting.…”

“…Following the increasing consideration of the child's rights by the public in East Asia, traditional family values have had to meet huge challenges in terms of parents' authority and ways of parenting. This specific cultural feature of corporal punishment has become less tolerated and more recently has been considered unacceptable by mainstream society (O'Brian & Lau, 1995). NGOs, on the other hand, deal with service delivery from the government to children and their families, as well as from organisations to children and their families (Liu, 2011).…”

“…Indeed, there is much attention to the reforms of the child welfare system in the Western world, such as the reviews and inquiries into child protection in the UK and the Crime and Misconduct Commission There is an emergence of new approaches to child welfare in Asia (Guo, 2007;W.-I. Lin, 2005;O'Brian & Lau, 1995). In Taiwan, for example, child welfare has received increasing consideration through a series of legislative and institutional reforms to child welfare (Guo, 2007) and the persistent endeavours of non-governmental organisations (CBI, 2008).…”

“…Indeed, there is much attention to the reforms of the child welfare system in the Western world, such as the reviews and inquiries into child protection in the UK and the Crime and Misconduct Commission There is little welfare literature drawing on child welfare service systems in Taiwan and other East Asian countries, in particular with regard to an understanding of children in need of child welfare service intervention. In the case of Taiwan, following the increasing public attention to the issue of child abuse and neglect (Guo, 2007;O'Brian & Lau, 1995), child welfare services have become a significant issue for the public and policy makers; however, the orientation of Taiwanese child welfare service systems is still absent in the child welfare literature. The current study will fill this gap through an understanding of children in need of 60 child welfare service intervention constructed in Taiwanese society.…”