Tragedies arising from domestic violence never fail to shock. The deaths of a divorced mother and her two teenage children in Tsz Wan Shan provide a particularly sad example. We do not know enough details to draw any firm conclusions about whether the tragedy could have been anticipated or prevented. The fact that the mother had just been discharged from psychiatric care suggests, with hindsight at least, the family may have been emotionally vulnerable.
Although this is the first such case since the global credit crisis led to warnings of tougher times, there is no reason to suppose any connection. There is reason for concern, though, that a looming economic slowdown will leave more families in distressed circumstances. Unemployment and poverty are among the main risk factors in domestic violence, along with drug and alcohol addiction and social isolation, particularly in new towns.
Thankfully, family violence gets much more attention since the community was shocked by the murders of a mother and two children in Tin Shui Wai in 2004 after she had sought protection from the authorities. The government has pledged to make the battle against it a priority. The Social Welfare Department has raised the number of frontline social workers. Police have adopted a more proactive response to complaints, and more victims have been willing to shrug off a reluctance to come forward.
Social workers and police cannot halt the tide of domestic violence. The underlying causes need to be tackled by the wider community. Police and social workers can only safeguard the welfare of children and defuse domestic crises. With the economic outlook dimming, they face the prospect of a heavier workload. That is a worry, given that reported cases rose almost 3,000 to more than 7,500 last year. Even with increased resources, social workers find they cannot counsel families at risk anywhere near as often as they would like. Economic downturns impose restraints on spending. They are not the time to expect an expansion of government welfare services. But there is an argument for making an exception for the welfare of the family, which remains the basic unit of society.