ENG-1957 — Page 245

SOCIAL WELFARE

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Juveniles Ordinance, 1951. The main responsibility of the Section is the reformation of these young girls, for many of whom prostitution is only transitory, and help is readily accepted.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd Order, who specialize in this type of welfare work, co-operate closely with the Govern- ment by providing residential care and effective training. However, a certain amount of difficulty is encountered in finding employment because of the stigma attached to any girl who has been a prostitute or dance hostess.

The Women and Girls' Section is also closely concerned in giving whatever help it can to adult prostitutes, to un- married mothers and to adolescent girls in need of care and protection. A certain number of marital disputes have also been settled successfully by the officers of the Section.

Probation. In Hong Kong juvenile deliquency does not on the surface present a problem comparable in magnitude to that faced by large towns and sea-ports in the United Kingdom. The majority of children appearing before the juvenile courts are charged with technical breaches of the law such as illegal hawking, committed not from anti- social motives but in attempts to supplement the family income on account of poverty. Of actual offences committed by juveniles and young persons, charges of simple larceny predominate. However, a constant need exists to maintain adequate facilities for social treatment such as institutions, clubs and centres where children and youths can be removed from the harmful environment of undesirable homes and the bad associations of secret societies in order that they can be re-educated to take a responsible place in society.

The Probation Section of the Social Welfare Office has ten probation officers, two of whom are seconded to take charge of residential institutions for the training of delin- quents. The other eight officers, one of whom is a woman, are directly engaged in probation work, serving collectively