Social Welfare Department - Services for Prevention and Handling of Elder Abuse

Services for Prevention and Handling of Elder Abuse

Some of the social service units serving elders, such as District Elderly Community Centres and Neighbourhood Elderly Centre etc. provide public education on prevention of elder abuse to enhance the elders and their family members' understanding on this problem and encourage the elders and their family members to seek early assistance in case of need.

Besides, the government and non-governmental welfare units providing casework services, such as District Elderly Community Centres and Integrated Family Services Centres etc. will provide appropriate services for the elder victims and their family members (including the abusers) to protect the elders and to prevent the recurrence of elder abuse.

Research on the Phenomenon of Elder Abuse in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Christian Service has, under the two-year pilot project of Elder Abuse Research and Protocol supported by the Lotteries Fund in February 2002, conducted a research to understand the phenomenon and prevalence of elder abuse in Hong Kong. The research included literature review, focus group discussions, territory-wide telephone survey, face-to-face household survey and case studies. The research report can be downloaded here:
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Pilot Projects on Prevention and Handling of Elder Abuse

From April 2001 to March 2005, the Haven of Hope Christian Service and Caritas - Hong Kong, under the support from Lotteries Fund, have implemented two Pilot Projects on Prevention and Handling of Elder Abuse respectively to provide community education, direct services and training, etc. To consolidate the knowledge and experience gained and to facilitate the sharing of experience with other organisations, the two agencies have developed a series of reference and programme materials including a casebook and a handbook on frequently asked questions (the text is in Chinese only), which can be downloaded under the Chinese version of this Homepage.

Procedural Guidelines for Handling Elder Abuse Cases (Revised August 2006)

To unify the definition and equip various professionals with clear procedural guidelines on handling suspected elder abuse cases, Social Welfare Department has published 'Procedural Guidelines for Handling Elder Abuse Cases' ('Procedural Guidelines') in December 2003, which aim to provide reference materials and procedures for different organizations and personnel in handling suspected elder abuse cases. The 'Procedural Guidelines' have been updated in August 2006 and can be downloaded here:

(Acrobat Document)

The Domestic Violence Ordinance (Cap. 189) stated in Para. 5.5 of Chapter 2 Section 5 of the Procedural Guidelines for Handling Elder Abuse Cases (Revised August 2006) has been amended as 'Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Violence Ordinance' (Cap. 189) with effect from 1 January 2010. The abused elders may also apply under the Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Violence Ordinance (Chapter 189) to the court for an injunction order against molestation by their spouses, children or other relatives as specified in that Ordinance.

For updated information of Support Services for the Elders and Carers in Chapter 12 of the Procedural Guidelines for Handling Elder Abuse Cases (Revised August 2006), please download HERE.

Appendix 21 : Reporting Guidelines for the 'Central Information System on Elder Abuse Case'

To facilitate the professionals to report cases to the 'Central Information System on Elder Abuse Cases' and have a better understanding on the definition of elder abuse, Social Welfare Department has further revised the Appendix 21 : Reporting Guidelines for the 'Central Information System on Elder Abuse Cases' of the 'Procedural Guidelines for Handling Elder Abuse Cases' in January 2007. The revised Appendix 21 (Chinese version only) can be downloaded here :

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Statistics on Elder Abuse Cases

Based on the information collected by the Central Information System on Elder Abuse Cases, the statistics on newly reported elder abuse cases for the period from January to September 2011 are as follows:

Statistics of Type of Elder Abuse Cases

Types of Abuse	No. of Cases
Physical abuse	204
Psychological abuse	16
Neglect	2
Financial abuse	32
Abandonment	2
Sexual abuse	1
Others	5
Multiple abuse	11
Total	273

Statistics of Types of Abuse by Victim's Sex

Type of Abuse	Male		Female		Total
Type of Abuse	No. of Victims	%	No. of Victims	%	No. of Victims	%
Physical Abuse	94	80.3%	110	70.5%	204	74.7%
Psychological Abuse	7	6.0%	9	5.8%	16	5.9%
Neglect	0	0.0%	2	1.3%	2	0.7%
Financial Abuse	10	8.5%	22	14.1%	32	11.7%
Abandonment	2	1.7%	0	0.0%	2	0.7%
Sexual Abuse	0	0.0%	1	0.6%	1	0.4%
Others	1	0.9%	4	2.6%	5	1.8%
Multiple Abuse	3	2.6%	8	5.1%	11	4.0%
Total	117	100%	156	100%	273	100%

Statistics of Relationship between Victim and Abuser

Relationship with Victim	No. of Abusers	%
Son	24	8.8%
Daughter	4	1.5%
Son-in-law	3	1.1%
Daughter-in-law	7	2.6%
Spouse	186	68.1%
Grandchildren	2	0.7%
Relative	3	1.1%
Friend / Neighbour	6	2.2%
Un-related person living with the victim	2	0.7%
Domestic helper	31	11.4%
Agency staff providing service to victim	1	0.4%
Others	4	1.5%
Total	273	100%

Statistics of Victim's Residential District

Residential District	No. of Victims	%
Central / Western	13	4.8%
Southern	12	4.4%
Islands	8	2.9%
Eastern	13	4.8%
Wanchai	5	1.8%
Kowloon City	10	3.7%
Yau Tsim Mong	13	4.8%
Sham Shui Po	19	7.0%
Wong Tai Sin	27	9.9%
Sai Kung	8	2.9%
Kwun Tong	27	9.9%
Sha Tin	13	4.8%
Tai Po	9	3.3%
North	12	4.4%
Yuen Long	23	8.4%
Tsuen Wan	12	4.4%
Kwai Tsing	32	11.7%
Tuen Mun	13	4.8%
Unknown	4	1.5%
Total	273	100%

Based on the information collected by the Central Information System on Elder Abuse Cases, the statistics on newly reported elder abuse cases from 2005 to 2010 can be downloaded here :

Statistics on newly reported elder abuse cases (January to December 2005)

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Statistics on newly reported elder abuse cases (January to December 2006)

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Statistics on newly reported elder abuse cases (January to December 2007)

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Statistics on newly reported elder abuse cases (January to December 2008)

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Statistics on newly reported elder abuse cases (January to December 2009)

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Statistics on newly reported elder abuse cases (January to December 2010)

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Publicity Leaflets on 'Protecting Elders Against Abuse'

The Department has published a set of 6 leaflets on elder abuse to enhance the awareness of elders and other citizens on the problem of elder abuse, to prevent the occurrence of abusive incident, and to encourage victims of abuse as well as their family members and friends to seek assistance as early as possible so as to remedy the situations. The leaflets can be downloaded here.

Protecting Elders Against Abuse (Acrobat Doc)

Protecting Elder Against Physical Abuse (Acrobat Doc)

Protecting Elders Against Psychological Abuse (Acrobat Doc)

Protecting Elders Against Neglect and Abandonment (Acrobat Doc)

Protecting Elders Against Financial Abuse (Acrobat Doc)

Protecting Elders Against Sexual Abuse (Acrobat Doc)


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