41. In 1952 the Social Welfare Office set up its Moral Welfare Section in order that specialized care could be given to children in moral danger, to juvenile prostitutes, and to un- married mothers. The name of this section has since been changed to the Women and Girls Section, and it is responsible for exercising some of the functions of the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance.
42. During the period under review the Women and Girls Section dealt with 318 cases of prostitution referred to it by the Police and by other sections of the department, as well as with a number of bar girls, dance hostesses, etc.
43. There were 8 prosecutions under the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance (see Appendix VIII). In addition 30 unmarried mothers were helped either to go through the ceremony of legal marriage, or to obtain maintenance for their children. 30 other girls, whose welfare had been the concern of this Section, were married at the Registry of Marriages. Employment was found for 110 girls who had been in the care of the Section, 10 of them finding work in textile mills as apprentices with a small wage in addition to board and lodging.
44. The closest liaison was maintained with the Po Leung Kuk and with the Home of the Good Shepherd Sisters for the reclamation and rehabilitation of juvenile prostitutes and other girls in moral danger. A total of 116 adolescent girls were found to be in need of such care and protection. On the 17th May, 1955, the foundation stone of the new permanent buildings of the Good Shepherd Sisters was laid, and Pelletier Hall, as it is called, was completed in December.
45. To prevent trafficking a total of 2,715 women and child emigrants were screened by the Special Welfare Services Section under the provisions of the Asiatic Emigration Ordinance No. 30 of 1915. (See Appendix X).
46. The special sub-committee on Moral Welfare appointed by the Social Welfare Advisory Committee is now nearing the end of its study of the problem of prostitution in the Colony, and its report is expected to be submitted in the near future.
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