Children of divorces need more than new Hong Kong custody law, critics say
Child custody laws are set to be reformed, but many say the real issue is helping parents get their kids through the trauma of divorce
The court orders are out, the lawyers paid and the former wife and husband formally separated. But for the child involved, the nightmare may have just begun.
Hong Kong is in the midst of a public consultation on reforming the city's outdated child custody law to make it more "child-centred". But a real concern remains: how will parents be held responsible for their child's best interests as the family - and the child's world - splits up.
The amendment seeks to replace the concept of custody with "parental responsibility", which the court will delegate through an all-in-one child arrangements order.
And while the legal sector and NGOs working with divorced families support amending the law, they worry. Inserting the phrase "parental responsibility" does not mean parents will actually take responsibility.
Part of the problem is that the city lacks public services targeting divorced parents and how they will continue to parent after the split.
That leaves NGOs, which must find their own funding and training to provide such struggling families with specialised divorce-support services.
"In principle, we support the change in the laws, but we are concerned that the government won't take responsibility for setting up the support services," said manager and parenting coordinator Christina Suen Suk-yin, from the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society. It serves close to 6,000 families in the Integrated Family Services.