TNAG-1363-FCO40-1809-Hong-Kong-Hansard-reports-and-minutes-of-the-meetings-of-the-1985 — Page 21

Supplementary to Question No. 11 in

Legislative Council on 13.11.85

Mrs. Chow :

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Sir, is there any assessment by the Government of the proportion of

unreported cases of similar nature so as to gauge the true size of the problem in

order to facilitate the planning of preventive measures ?

Secretary for Health and Welfare : Sir, this is a field which has not been explored

to any great extent up to the present but the Social Welfare Department and the

voluntary agencies have started compiling statistics on cases of this sort particularly

of battered wives which are handled by the department and the agencies, and the figures

so far available cover a very short period and do not enable us to identify any

particular trend. But I can assure Mrs. Chow it is the intention to continue to

compile statistics to cover this area.

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Mr. YEUNG Po-kwan : Sir, what are the statutory requirements for the establishment

of such a centre and is there any difference in the running condition and standard

between the centre operated by the Government and a shelter operated by an outside

organisation?

Secretary for Health and Welfare :

Sir, as far as I am aware there have not been

any statutory requirements for these centres and there should in fact be no

significant difference between the way the two centres are run.

Mr. Martin Lee : Sir, will the Secretary for Health and Welfare please clarify

as to whether the figures he has so kindly provided for serious assaults include

cases where hand-packed husbands were battered by their stronger wives or in

Chinese“女强人打丈夫”?

Secretary for Health and Welfare : - The figures I understand, Sir, do refer to

crimes resulting from dispute within the families. They do not indicate who was the

aggressor in these particular circumstances.

Dr. Ho:

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Sir, in the domestic violence figures what is the percentage or number of

victims who are elderly persons in the family?

Secretary for Health and Welfare :

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Sir, I am afraid I don't have that percentage

to hand but I will try to find out and write to Dr. Ho.