'Look good on paper' only: Hong Kong lawmaker calls for better government services for ethnic minorities who are violence victims

Not even once have the government's video conferencing translation services been used since being set up in 2011 - evidence that translation services "look good on paper" but are woefully underutilised, a lawmaker said.

Coupled with a lack of cultural sensitivity on the part of government officials, it is exceedingly hard for victims of family violence in the local ethnic minority community to seek help, said Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, speaking after a legislative council subcommittee meeting on how to combat domestic and sexual violence.

Critics of the government also said immigration regulations "pose a threat to women" who come to Hong Kong on dependent visas, and deter them from reporting cases of family and sexual violence for fear of losing their right to stay in the city.

"On paper we seem to be on par [with other world cities] ... with interpretation services available in all government departments ... but in reality we are very backward," said Cheung.

Apart from the police, he said, the Social Welfare Department should be taking up a considerable share of translation work, but they only account for 4 per cent of telephone translation services used by the government, and just 8 per cent of face-to-face translation services.

It is extremely difficult for victims of abuse to come forward, and the ordeal is worse for ethnic minorities, said Linda Wong of Rain Lily, an organisation that helps battered women. Language barriers and a lack of cultural sensitivity, especially among police and frontline government social workers, add to hardships.