Domestic violence has been hobbling Hong Kong despite state and
private efforts to root out this social problem. Surprisingly, it's
not the men that are getting more violent, since last year's
statistics show an increasing number of female abusers.
Committed to early intervention and prevention, the Harmony
House has set up a "screening program" in the Tuen Mun Hospital,
Tsuen Kwan O Hospital and the United Christian Hospital, where
doctors in the accident and emergency wards ask patients about
spousal abuse in the past year.
From January to November 2006, the Crisis Intervention Team
(CIT) handled as many as 208 cases of domestic violence, which were
followed up by the Harmony House or referred to other
organizations.
Though most of the victims are still women, CIT supervisor Lai
Yee-man said the percentage of male victims had risen to 12
percent. A total of 981 people called Harmony House's hotline last
year seeking help, with 134 of these encouragingly being
perpetrators.
"Many of the hospital cases we handle are long-term ones in
which the women cannot help but fight back after suffering physical
abuse for years," Lai said. "We've dealt with male victims in
hospitals, but it gets tricky when man and woman both are
injured."
While legal procedures are usually long-drawn and complex issues
for couples, follow-up counseling, too, can prove daunting. Many
abusers, both men and women, said they were provoked into physical
violence.
"There may be some re-positioning in our counseling. Yet in
cases in which men and women both are abusers, we try to make them
understand that violence can only result from one or both,"
Lai said.
Shirley Tang, senior social work practitioner of the Hong Kong
Family Welfare Society (HKFWS), said women, too, resorted to
physical abuse. "There are many reasons for the conflicts besides
extra-marital affairs and they occur in couples of all social
backgrounds. But female abusers are generally more eager to
seek help as they wish to stop violence at home," Tang
said.
Growing domestic violence prompted the HKFWS to adopt a new
counseling course for women last October. Eight women have attended
the three-month course to date, and the HKFWS will follow them for
a further six months. The second course starts this month.
The real problem, Tang said, is the lack of public
awareness.
"Local bodies still have a lot to do in terms of early
intervention, for most cases handled by the Social Welfare
Department (SWD) are already very serious," Tang said. "But public
perception of domestic violence may change after the Domestic
Violence Ordinance is amended."
Acknowledging the need for more men to seek counseling, SWD
spokesperson Elaine Li said they could go to any of the numerous
integrated family service centers.
The SWD has been investing more resources into its Family and
Child Protective Services Units to reach more people suffering from
cases of domestic violence.
(China Daily January 12, 2007)