TNAG-1449-FCO40-1953-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 39

Sir

UMELCO

DRAFT SPEECH BY HON HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CBE, JP LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL - 23.7.86

Domestic Violence Bill 1986

This is one Bill where the fair sex in this Council have adopted a united front and have received the sympathetic and well considered support of those who are not of the fair sex in this Council.

this problem This is a very serious matter indeed

The total number of reported battered

of spouse battering.

spouse cases between 1 April 1985 to 31 March 1986 was 838, out of which 787 were male abusers and 51 female.

The most numerous types of battering were 578 cases of beating with hand or fist, 101 cases of kicking and 131 cases of beating with or against an object.

These are only reported cases. quite a large number of unreported cases.

There must be also

It

This Bill will cover not just spouse abuse, but also abuse of children under 21 who are living with the parties. does not cover parents or grand-parents who may be living in the same household, and who are abused, but this has to be a matter for separate investigation and study altogether.

According to Family Welfare Society statistics, about one-third of their clients who are abused do not go to the police for help. Perhaps it is timely for Government to encourage the setting up of more district-based Family Life Education Committees, with more actual citizen input and which, if called upon to do so, also act as a form of domestic mediation committee.

UMELCO