In the last decade, my research team and I have conducted a number of studies on intimate partner violence (IPV) in Hong Kong. It is time to review the studies in order to see what must be done for the future development of research, policy, and services related to domestic violence in Hong Kong. Understanding how to combat domestic violence in Hong Kong provides valuable insight into how this can be done in greater Chinese societies. The Chinese are the largest ethnic group in the world, making up a full one-fifth of the world’s total population. Yet little is known...

According to the multidisciplinary procedural guidelines developed for handling child abuse cases in Hong Kong, child abuse is defined as any act of commission or omission that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or psychological health and development (Working Group on Child Abuse, 1998). Child abuse refers to the physical and emotional mistreatment, sexual abuse, neglect and negligent treatment of children, as well as to their commercial or other exploitation. With its complex dynamics and predisposing factors, child maltreatment is recognized internationally as a serious public health, human rights, legal and social issue.

Child abuse has been described in literature...

In research on this subject, one always comes across different terminology such as elder abuse, elder neglect, elder mistreatment, and so on. What exactly is elder mistreatment? The Action on Elder Abuse (1995) defines elder mistreatment as “a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person”. The National Research Council (NRC) proposes a similar definition for research purposes. According to the NRC (2003), elder mistreatment is “(a) intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm,...

Research studies on domestic violence (DV) frequently employ instruments that identify or assess constructs associated with health-related problems and/or the well-being of an individual. These problems can be of a physical or a psychological nature, which may not be directly measurable. These underlying constructs may, however, be assessed by using the responses of a number of items that are associated with the constructs. Responses to these items are then scored and used to form a scale score for assessment. A compendium of Chinese instruments available for DV studies is provided in the final section of this chapter. In general, these...

On 5 November 2009, under the headline “Wife punched 10 times after she refused to have sex, court told”, Loretta Fong (2009) reported in the South China Morning Post that “the court was told of four other alleged assaults by . . . [the husband] against his wife between October 1 last year and April 1 this year, . . . [the husband], 46, has a record of 13 convictions, of which 11 were related to violence.” This type of report on domestic violence is in fact very common nowadays. Statistics on cases involving child abuse and spouse battering captured...

The saying, “I know what is best for you”, is probably a familiar echo to many of us from our childhood days. To promote a happy childhood, the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child stipulated in 1989 that “the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration” in providing “special protection . . . opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means” to a child “to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity” (United Nations, 2010). The doctrine...

Our research journey on domestic violence in Chinese pregnant women began in 1997. At that time, I had just completed my Obstetrics & Gynaecology (O&G) specialist training in Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) and Tsan Yuk Hospital. My interest in research was still minimal. One afternoon, I met Professor H. K. Ma, who had come back from London to visit us in QMH. Professor Ma had been Head of the Department of O&G at the University of Hong Kong before her retirement in 1995. She inspired us with a research idea when she told us domestic violence in pregnant women had...

There is overwhelming evidence that intimate partner violence (IPV) is linked with a range of health problems (e.g., Bonomi, Anderson, Rivara, & Thompson, 2007; Campbell, 2002; Humphreys, Cooper, & Miaskowski, 2010; Krug, Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi, & Lozano, 2002; Wuest et al., 2009). Given the association of IPV with significant morbidity, it is not surprising that much effort has gone into designing interventions to prevent IPV and address its related health consequences. This chapter describes the impact of IPV on health, and discusses the effects of interventions on preventing/reducing IPV and promoting the health of IPV survivors.

The impact of IPV...

Victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) are often sent to the emergency department and emergency clinicians can be main players in breaking cycles of violence to prevent devastating consequences for victims, children and families. A multidisciplinary approach with one-stop management in ED is vital for efficient and holistic care for IPV patients. IPV should have a greater weight in the undergraduate curricula of medicine and nursing, as well as more resources to strengthen postgraduate expertise development in this field. Ongoing territory-wide studies are highly recommended to monitor trends, and to investigate the problem’s complex nature and the controversial effects of...

Children in Hong Kong are often viewed as enjoying excellent health as indicated by their good vital statistics. However, the child welfare policy and service delivery model in Hong Kong have long been criticized as being shortsighted, and as lacking the vision to plan for primary prevention especially on child protection and to address forthcoming problems in advance.

On the service level, the current manpower allocation and funding system demonstrate a typical failure to address the long-term needs of children and underprivileged families. The social work workforce and administrative system in Hong Kong are still following the traditional government administrative...

Child protection is a team effort involving different professionals, such as social workers, teachers, police, and health professionals. Child health and welfare professionals in Hong Kong have worked closely in handling child maltreatment because of increased awareness of child abuse and neglect in the community since 1990 (Mulvey, 1997). Multidisciplinary collaboration is a common and critical work approach in dealing with child maltreatment. According to the Procedural Guides for Handling Child Abuse Cases Revised 2007 (PG-CAC) issued by the Social Welfare Department, “The MDCC is a forum by which professionals having a major role in the handling and investigation of...

Violence inflicted by one person onto another, be it onto a loved one or a stranger, has never been a one-dimensional issue. The causes of family violence—as well as its conflict, trauma and impact—are intermingled with the complex dynamics of relationships, emotions, gender roles, cultural and societal values, traditional beliefs, as well as perpetuation of power and control (Adams, 2007; R. E. Dobash & Dobash, 1979; Hamberger & Hastings, 1986; Pence, 1993). Nor is family violence and sexual violence merely a “Hong Kong issue”, although this book focuses mainly on the situation in Hong Kong. Violence occurs in...