TNAG-1449-FCO40-1953-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 35

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DRAFT SPEECH BY DR HON HENRIETTA IP, OBE, JP

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

23.-7.86

Domestic Violence Bill 1986

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· 8 AUG 1986

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7B 878

The Domestic Violence Bill offers immediate remedy to the spouse of a marriage who needs immediate but temporary relief from the violent act of the other by, inter alia, excluding the offending spouse from the matrimonial home, for a period of up to six months, so that the couple can either cool, down and sort out their matrimonial disputes in a more rational manner, or one of them commences matrimonial proceedings so that full remedies under the Matrimonial Causes Ordinance

It is a much needed piece of becomes available to the victim. legislation which has taken some time to go through our law making mechanism.

In 1979 "the Year of the Child", a group of professional women embarked on a joint effort to advance the

The gorup protection of women and child through legislation. included Dr Judith Mackay, Dr Edith Horsfall, Miss Fanny CHEUNG of the Hong Kong Council of Women, Miss Elsie LEUNG and Miss Maria TAM of the Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers and myself as representative of the Hong Kong Paediatric Society. We first compiled a digest of an Evaluation Report on the Year of the Child and then some of us were involved in different campaigns including the war on Rape, which brought about the amendment to Section 154 of the Crimes Ordinance, to protect This resulted in the identity of the victim of Child Abuse. the setting up of the voluntary agency "Against Child Abuse"; as well as a Women Centre, which because of the cost involved However, the Hong Kong council of Women did not materialize.

did manage to set up a refuge centre with the support of Government and give shelter to women battered by their husbands. The Domestic Violence Bill is the final touch in the

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