It took community outrage over the deaths two years ago of a mother, her two children and her killer-husband to highlight domestic violence and child abuse and raise them in the government's social priorities. The deaths could have been prevented. The woman had sought help from police and social workers several times over her husband's violence before he stabbed his family and then himself to death in the family home at Tin Shui Wai. The circumstances were so shocking that they led to an independent investigation by a government-appointed panel as well as a coroner's inquiry that aroused intense interest.
The unpalatable reality of family violence and child abuse has never slipped far out of the public mind since. We are reminded by shocking examples such as the recent death of a 10-year-old boy after being locked in a suitcase. The latest crime statistics and figures compiled by a child protection agency show reporting of offences is on the rise. This suggests greater public awareness.
One of the key recommendations of the two inquiries into the Tin Shui Wai tragedy was a child-fatality review process. Such panels have existed for years in the United States and Australia, among others, to analyse preventable child deaths from a wide perspective, including parental roles, housing and traffic design, health care, social welfare and legal protection. Their role is to offer effective solutions for child protection.
The news that Hong Kong is to get an official panel to investigate unnatural child deaths later this year is welcome. However, as we report today, child medical specialists and social workers fear the panel will be hobbled even before it begins work. The government says it will only look into cases involving people previously known to social welfare agencies. This would exclude, for example, even the boy in the suitcase, as well as unnatural deaths not related to child abuse. Investigations will not begin until criminal and legal proceedings are completed, the panel will report only once every two or three years and details will not be disclosed.
It seems the panel will only be looking at what went wrong with the system. This is commendable as far as it goes. But as it stands the proposal amounts to an audit, long after the event, of the role of social workers in the circumstances leading up to a child's death that may have been preventable. It lacks urgency and transparency.
The government rightly has a policy of zero tolerance towards family violence. The Social Welfare Department and the police have undertaken a shake-up of the way they handle domestic disputes following the public outrage over the Tin Shui Wai tragedy. The latest crime statistics suggest it is making some difference. For example, the percentage of cases ending in prosecution has risen significantly.
