A Hong Kong lawmaker has criticised the lack of a fixed time frame for disclosing suspected cases of sexual assault at residential care homes. It came after an operator waited two months to announce a suspected abuse in August.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun. File photo: GovHK.
It was “not suitable” for the government to require residential care home operators to disclose suspected cases of abuse within a fixed time period as each case was “unique” and factors for consideration would vary, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun told the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
Sun’s remarks were made in response to questions raised by legislator Michael Tien, who asked if the authorities had established any criteria or guidelines regarding announcing sexual assault incidents at residential care homes.
Under existing regulations, residential care homes are required to report a “special incident” to the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and submit a report within three calendar days of the incident.
Sun said on Wednesday that the government would consider the nature and severity of the incident, the impact on service users, and actions taken by the operator and law enforcement before deciding whether it was necessary to disclose the incident.
Social Welfare Department. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP.
When deciding when to make the incident public, it was crucial to “strike a balance carefully,” the minister said, adding prior counselling and support would be provided to the victims, their family members and other affected individuals.
In October, the SWD released statements about a suspected abuse incident at the Hong Chi Pinehill Integrated Vocational Training Centre in Tai Po in August. A staff member was suspected of abusing two people at the care home and was arrested, the association and the government department said.
The welfare chief chief defended the two-month delay in announcement, saying in October that time was needed to ensure the victims were emotionally stable before making the incident public.
Tien slammed Sun’s reply on Wednesday, saying the most “shocking” part of the recent suspected abuse was the two-month delay in announcement. He questioned why the authorities could not join forces with scholars and experts to come up with a time frame that would allow the victims and their family members to be emotionally stable before the incident was made public.
Lawmaker Michael Tien. File photo: Hillary Leung/HKFP.
“Your criteria is having no criteria. This time it is two months, next time it could be four months and the time after that might be two weeks… I think no one can accept this,” Tien said in Cantonese.
In response, Sun said it was difficult to evaluate how much time was needed for handling the emotions of the victims and their family members. He said the public could rest assured that the authorities would make such announcements as soon as possible.
The Hong Chi Association, one of the city’s largest NGOs serving people with intellectual disabilities, said in October that it was alerted to the alleged abuse after a parent inquired with concerns about their child’s injury.
A 38-year-old male care home employee was later arrested over suspected sexual assault involving a 21-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man. Citing sources, local media outlets said the suspect was charged with raping the woman and sexually assaulting the man.
💡If you are suffering from sexual or domestic violence, regardless of your age or gender, contact the police, Harmony House (click for details) and/or the Social Welfare Department on 28948896.Dial 999 in emergencies.
