Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

    Access to Information

    Re: Application No. 4055/2021

             Our department has received your application for access to
information on 17 December 2021.  Your application is now under
processing.  According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to
Information, our department will inform you of the latest progress of the
case separately on or before 6 January 2022.  In the meantime, please
contact me at 2892 5628 if you have any enquiry.

Regards,

Ms Heather CHAN

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]> 撰寫:-----
收件人: FOI requests at Social Welfare Department <[Social Welfare Department request email]>
寄件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
日期: 12/17/2021 12:31下午
主旨: Freedom of Information request - Historical Statistics of CSA Cases
at SWD

Dear Social Welfare Department,

We request the following statistical information...

Statistics on newly reported cases (“NRC”) of child sexual abuse (“CSA”)
by year from January 2010 through December 2021, including the following:

(1) Number of newly reported CSA cases

(2) The type of CSA alleged

(3) Sex and age of victim

(4) Sex and age of perpetrator

(5) Relationship between the victim and perpetrator

(6) The outcome of the NRC as either:

     i. Established child abuse case

     ii. At risk of child abuse

     iii. Potentially at risk of child abuse

     iv. Suspected victim of child abuse

(7) The number of referrals made by the SWD for those NRCs that were
substantiated and to whom the referral was made (for example, if a
referral was made to the Hong Kong Police Force, Hospital Authority and/or
another department within the SWD)

Regards,

Taura Edgar

[1]https://www.talkhongkong.org/

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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the accessinfo.hk website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

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requests to Social Welfare Department? If so, please contact us using this
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Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

Access to Information

Re: Application No. 4055/2021

I refer to your email of 17 December 2021, seeking access to the following
information regarding newly reported cases of child sexual abuse (“CSA”)
by year between 2010 and 2021 –

(i)          Number of newly reported CSA cases;

(ii)          The type of CSA alleged;

(iii)         Sex and age of victim;

(iv)         Sex and age of perpetrator;

(v)          Relationship between the victim and perpetrator;

(vi)         The outcome of the newly reported cases as either:

              (a) Established child abuse case

              (b) At risk of child abuse

              (c) Potentially at risk of child abuse

              (d) Suspected victim of child abuse; and

(vii)        The number of referrals made by the Department for those
newly reported cases that were substantiated and to whom the referral was
made.

2.         Subsequent to our interim reply to you on 24 December 2021,
please find our reply below.

Item (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) above

3.           The information on the number of newly reported CSA cases,
sex and age of victim, sex and age of perpetrator and relationship between
the victim and perpetrator has been compiled in the Child Protection
Registry (“CPR”) Statistical Report which has been annually uploaded on
our Department’s webpage since 2011.  You can access to the required
information in the CPR Statistical Report through the below
link:                                                          

[1]https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pub...

Item (ii), (vi) and (vii) above

4.           The department does not possess the type of CSA alleged, the
outcome of the newly reported cases and the number of referrals made by
the Department for those newly reported cases that were substantiated and
to whom the referral was made. 

5.         Please contact me at 2892 5628 if you have any enquiries.

Regards,

(Ms Heather CHAN)

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Enquiry DAIO/SWDNET/SWD/HKSARG 撰寫:-----
收件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
寄件人: Enquiry DAIO/SWDNET/SWD/HKSARG
日期: 12/24/2021 09:33上午
主旨: 回覆: Freedom of Information request - Historical Statistics of CSA
Cases at SWD

Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

    Access to Information

    Re: Application No. 4055/2021

             Our department has received your application for access to
information on 17 December 2021.  Your application is now under
processing.  According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to
Information, our department will inform you of the latest progress of the
case separately on or before 6 January 2022.  In the meantime, please
contact me at 2892 5628 if you have any enquiry.

Regards,

Ms Heather CHAN

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]> 撰寫:-----
收件人: FOI requests at Social Welfare Department <[Social Welfare Department request email]>
寄件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
日期: 12/17/2021 12:31下午
主旨: Freedom of Information request - Historical Statistics of CSA Cases
at SWD

Dear Social Welfare Department,

We request the following statistical information...

Statistics on newly reported cases (“NRC”) of child sexual abuse (“CSA”)
by year from January 2010 through December 2021, including the following:

(1) Number of newly reported CSA cases

(2) The type of CSA alleged

(3) Sex and age of victim

(4) Sex and age of perpetrator

(5) Relationship between the victim and perpetrator

(6) The outcome of the NRC as either:

     i. Established child abuse case

     ii. At risk of child abuse

     iii. Potentially at risk of child abuse

     iv. Suspected victim of child abuse

(7) The number of referrals made by the SWD for those NRCs that were
substantiated and to whom the referral was made (for example, if a
referral was made to the Hong Kong Police Force, Hospital Authority and/or
another department within the SWD)

Regards,

Taura Edgar

[2]https://www.talkhongkong.org/

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request under the Code of Access to Information facilitated via
the accessinfo.hk website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #917 email]

Is [Social Welfare Department request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Social Welfare Department? If so, please contact us using this
form:

[3]https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[4]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pub...
2. https://www.talkhongkong.org/
3. https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...
4. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

Access to Information

Re: Application No. 4055/2021

I refer to your email of 28 December 2021 on the follow-up question
regarding our reply on the same day.

(i) “2020 - Where can we obtain this information?  Are you saying that you
do not have any data about child sexual abuse (“CSA”) in 2010?”; and

(ii) “2021 - When will this data be available on the site and can I have
the Jan-Nov data now?”

2.         Please find our reply below.

Item (i) above

3.           The annual Child Protection Registry Statistical Report (the
Report) has only been uploaded onto our Department's Webpage since 2011. 
The available information on (i) number of newly reported CSA case, (iii)
the sex and age of victim, (iv) sex and age of perpetrator and (v)
relationship between the victim and the perpetrator for CSA cases in 2010
are provided at attached.

Item (ii) above

4.           The annual Report with whole year's statistics (Jan to Dec)
on newly reported child protection cases will be uploaded onto our
Department's Webpage in 2nd quarter of the following year.   The breakdown
of statistics on CSA will only be available upon consolidation of the
annual statistics.  According to the quarterly statistics available in our
Webpage, the number of newly reported CSA is 316 from January to September
2021.  We do not have the CSA statistics for the period from January to
November 2021 at present.

5.           Please contact me at 2892 5628 if you have any enquiries.

Regards,

(Ms Heather CHAN)

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]> 撰寫:-----
收件人: FOI requests at Social Welfare Department <[Social Welfare Department request email]>
寄件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
日期: 12/28/2021 02:11下午
主旨: Re: 回覆: Freedom of Information request - Historical Statistics of
CSA Cases at SWD

Dear Social Welfare Department,

Many thanks.  We may have other followup questions but I would like to
start with the date ranges of the info:

2010 - Where can we obtain this information?  Are you saying that you do
not have any data about CSA in 2010?

2021 - When will this data be available on the site and can I have the
Jan-Nov data now?

Regards,

Taura Edgar

顯示引用部分

Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

Access to Information

Re: Application No. 4055/2021

I refer to your email of 7 January 2022 on the follow-up question
regarding our reply on 30 December 2021.  The issues and questions raised
in your email are being examined and your application is now under
processing.

According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 27 January 2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2892
5628 if you have any enquiry.

Regards,

(Ms Heather CHAN)

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]> 撰寫:-----
收件人: FOI requests at Social Welfare Department <[Social Welfare Department request email]>
寄件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
日期: 01/07/2022 01:03下午
主旨: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Freedom of Information request - Historical
Statistics of CSA Cases at SWD

Dear Social Welfare Department,

Many thanks for your reply. I have some followup questions about my
request.

In the CPR reports it is very useful that some key stats are broken out
into type of abuse and gender of victim (e.g. sexual abuse of females).
 There is one very important stat which isn’t: Relationship of Abuser.
 Can you please provide that breakdown for 2010-2020?

Regarding the portions not provided in your last response, I refer you to
this report "Epidemiology of Child Abuse and Its Geographic Distribution
in Hong Kong: An Important Social Indicator of Different Districts and
Communities" 2013 [1]http://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/225958 (or this link
which contains the PDF
[2]https://www.pico.gov.hk/en/policyresearc...) which
clearly provides this data from the SWD 2001-2010.

(2) The type of CSA alleged

See Table 11 by type of sexual abuse which demonstrates SWD does hold this
data and breaks it down into several categories: incest, sexual
intercourse with relatives other than parents, sexual intercourse with
non-relatives, other forms of sexual activity.

-------------------

(6) The outcome of the NRC as either:

     i. Established child abuse case

     ii. At risk of child abuse

     iii. Potentially at risk of child abuse

     iv. Suspected victim of child abuse

See “In CPR, there are four categories for case nature: a) established
child abuse case, b) at risk of abuse, c) potentially at risk of abuse and
d) suspected victim of child abuse.”

Please provide this data.

-------------------

 (7) The number of referrals made by the SWD for those NRCs that were
substantiated and to whom the referral was made (for example, if a
referral was made to the Hong Kong Police Force, Hospital Authority and/or
another department within the SWD)

See below quotes which indicate referrals information is possessed by SWD.

• “…some cases established as child abuse, e.g. sexual abuse, were not
admitted to public hospitals…”

• “…There was no need for hospitalisation for some child abuse (e.g.
sexual abuse)”

It is very difficult to imagine that the SWD does not know how many cases
it refers to the Police force for example. It seems unlikely in the
extreme that information like this isn't tracked very regularly via MDCC
among other processes.  

-------------------

Therefore we can see that the data is compiled. Why was it available for
the above report but is not available now for 2010-2020 (and 2021 when
collated)?

If any of the above data is known by SWD to be held by other bodies,
please do advise me directly here.

Many thanks in your efforts to protect children!

Taura Edgar

顯示引用部分

Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

Access to Information

Re: Application No. 4055/2021

I refer to your email of 7 January 2022 on the follow-up question
regarding our reply on 30 December 2021.  

(1)              Breakdown of Relationship of Abuser for 2010-2020;

(2)              Breakdown of the type of child sexual abuse (“CSA”)
alleged for 2010-2020;

(3)              Breakdown of the outcome of the newly reported case
(“NRC”) for 2010-2020 as either:

  i. Established child abuse case

 ii. At risk of child abuse

iii. Potentially at risk of child abuse

iv. Suspected victim of child abuse; and

(4)              The number of referrals made by the Social Welfare
Department (SWD) for those NRCs that were substantiated and to whom the
referral was made (for example, if a referral was made to the Hong Kong
Police Force, Hospital Authority and/or another department within the
SWD).

2.     Subsequent to our email dated 14 January 2022, please find our
reply below-

Item (1) above

For item (5) distribution of perpetrators’ relationship with children by
types of harm/maltreatment stated in your email on 17 December 2021,
please refer to the Word file we provided to you on 30 December 2021, as
well as Table 10 for the year of 2011 to 2017 and Table 13 from 2018 to
2020 in the annual Child Protection Registry Statistical Reports on the
SWD Webpage.

Item (2) above

Please refer to the attachment.

Item (3) above

Please refer to the attachment.

Item (4) above

Though the caseworkers would refer their clients for different services as
appropriate, the number of referrals has not been captured in SWD.

3.           Please contact me at 2892 5628 if you have any enquiries.

Regards,

(Ms Heather CHAN)

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Enquiry DAIO/SWDNET/SWD/HKSARG 撰寫:-----
收件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
寄件人: Enquiry DAIO/SWDNET/SWD/HKSARG
日期: 01/14/2022 05:43下午
主旨: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Freedom of Information request -
Historical Statistics of CSA Cases at SWD

Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

Access to Information

Re: Application No. 4055/2021

I refer to your email of 7 January 2022 on the follow-up question
regarding our reply on 30 December 2021.  The issues and questions raised
in your email are being examined and your application is now under
processing.

According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 27 January 2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2892
5628 if you have any enquiry.

Regards,

(Ms Heather CHAN)

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]> 撰寫:-----
收件人: FOI requests at Social Welfare Department <[Social Welfare Department request email]>
寄件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
日期: 01/07/2022 01:03下午
主旨: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Freedom of Information request - Historical
Statistics of CSA Cases at SWD

Dear Social Welfare Department,

Many thanks for your reply. I have some followup questions about my
request.

In the CPR reports it is very useful that some key stats are broken out
into type of abuse and gender of victim (e.g. sexual abuse of females).
 There is one very important stat which isn’t: Relationship of Abuser.
 Can you please provide that breakdown for 2010-2020?

Regarding the portions not provided in your last response, I refer you to
this report "Epidemiology of Child Abuse and Its Geographic Distribution
in Hong Kong: An Important Social Indicator of Different Districts and
Communities" 2013 [1]http://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/225958 (or this link
which contains the PDF
[2]https://www.pico.gov.hk/en/policyresearc...) which
clearly provides this data from the SWD 2001-2010.

(2) The type of CSA alleged

See Table 11 by type of sexual abuse which demonstrates SWD does hold this
data and breaks it down into several categories: incest, sexual
intercourse with relatives other than parents, sexual intercourse with
non-relatives, other forms of sexual activity.

-------------------

(6) The outcome of the NRC as either:

     i. Established child abuse case

     ii. At risk of child abuse

     iii. Potentially at risk of child abuse

     iv. Suspected victim of child abuse

See “In CPR, there are four categories for case nature: a) established
child abuse case, b) at risk of abuse, c) potentially at risk of abuse and
d) suspected victim of child abuse.”

Please provide this data.

-------------------

 (7) The number of referrals made by the SWD for those NRCs that were
substantiated and to whom the referral was made (for example, if a
referral was made to the Hong Kong Police Force, Hospital Authority and/or
another department within the SWD)

See below quotes which indicate referrals information is possessed by SWD.

• “…some cases established as child abuse, e.g. sexual abuse, were not
admitted to public hospitals…”

• “…There was no need for hospitalisation for some child abuse (e.g.
sexual abuse)”

It is very difficult to imagine that the SWD does not know how many cases
it refers to the Police force for example. It seems unlikely in the
extreme that information like this isn't tracked very regularly via MDCC
among other processes.  

-------------------

Therefore we can see that the data is compiled. Why was it available for
the above report but is not available now for 2010-2020 (and 2021 when
collated)?

If any of the above data is known by SWD to be held by other bodies,
please do advise me directly here.

Many thanks in your efforts to protect children!

Taura Edgar

顯示引用部分

Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

Access to Information

Re: Application No. 4055/2021

               Thank you very much for your email dated 10 February 2022.
 We would appreciate your understanding that the Department has endeavored
to provide you with the available information in relation to your
captioned request for access to information in our previous replies of 28
December 2021, 30 December 2021 and 27 January 2022 having regard to the
case circumstances.  Should you have any further enquiries or concern in
relation to the information provided, please kindly let us know.

2.           Thank you for your understanding to the matter.  If you have
any enquiries on the above, please contact me at 2892 5628.

Regards,

(Ms Heather CHAN)

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]> 撰寫:-----
收件人: FOI requests at Social Welfare Department <[Social Welfare Department request email]>
寄件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
日期: 02/10/2022 11:45上午
主旨: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Freedom of Information request -
Historical Statistics of CSA Cases at SWD

Dear Social Welfare Department,

Thank you for your reply. I really do appreciate your time and effort in
making it. It seems that while you do hold some basic data, there is still
quite a bit either not provided or not tracked.

Our aim is to understand  the scope of the CSA issue which effects at
least 1 in 10 children in the US and UK (and likely the same here) - an
important social issue issue!  Understanding the what, when and where of
abuse trends according to gender and age will help stake holders such as
parents, education, NGOs and government bodies to plan for efforts to
prevent child sexual abuse.  

Regards,

Taura Edgar

[1]https://www.talkhongkong.org/

顯示引用部分

Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

Access to Information

Re: Application No. 4055/2021

I refer to your email of 24 March 2022 on the follow-up question regarding
our reply dated 27 January 2022 on the breakdown of the type of child
sexual abuse (“CSA”) alleged for 2010-2020;

Number of Child Protection Case (CPC) by Type of Sexual Abuse:

i.                  Incest

ii.                 Sexual intercourse with relatives

iii.               Sexual intercourse with non-relatives

iv.               Other

You would like to clarify:

(1) What is the definition of incest vs. sexual intercourse with a
relative?

(2) The category of "other" is the largest by far and can cover anything
from indecency to forced involvement in child pornography.  For example
the Police Dept provides this breakdown: Rape, Indecent Assault, Unlawful
Sexual Intercourse, Gross Indecency, Incest, Buggery, Indecent Conduct
towards child under 16, etc. If it cannot be broken down, please explain
why.

2.     Please find our reply below-

Item (1) above

Incest refers to sexual intercourse with grandparent/parent/sibling under
Section 47 & 48 of Crimes Ordinance, Cap. 200 while sexual intercourse
with a relative refers to sexual intercourse with relatives other than
grandparent/parent/sibling.

Item (2) above

"Others" refers to "other forms of sexual activity (fondling, mutual
sexual fondling, etc.)" as specified in the Child Protection Registry
(“CPR”) data input form.  You may refer to the CPR data input form from
the link below:

[1]https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pub...

(Protecting Children from Maltreatment – Procedural Guide for
Multi-disciplinary Co-operation (Revised 2020) > Annexes > Appendix 2 to
Annex 14)

According to the “Protecting Children from Maltreatment — Procedural Guide
for Multi-disciplinary Co-operation” (Revised 2020), child sexual abuse
refers to forcing or enticing a child to take part in any acts of sexual
activity for sexual exploitation or abuse and the child does not consent
to or fully understand or comprehend this sexual activity that occurs to
him/her due to mental immaturity.  Other forms of sexual activity may
include acts that have or do not have direct physical contact with
children (e.g. oral sex, procuring a child to masturbate others/expose
his/her sexual organs, or to pose in an obscene way/watch sexual
activities of others, production of pornographic material, forcing a child
to engage in prostitution, etc.).  You may refer to “Protecting Children
from Maltreatment — Procedural Guide for Multi-disciplinary Co-operation”
(Revised 2020) from the link below:

[2]https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pub...

(Protecting Children from Maltreatment – Procedural Guide for
Multi-disciplinary Co-operation (Revised 2020) > Core Procedures)

3.           Please contact me at 2892 5628 if you have any enquiries.

Regards,

(Ms Heather CHAN)

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]> 撰寫:-----
收件人: FOI requests at Social Welfare Department <[Social Welfare Department request email]>
寄件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
日期: 03/24/2022 12:12下午
主旨: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Freedom of Information
request - Historical Statistics of CSA Cases at SWD

Dear Social Welfare Department,

Again many thanks for your previous assistance.  In analyzing the data I
have several questions I hope you can answer:

Previously you have provided this info:

Breakdown of the type of child sexual abuse (“CSA”) alleged for 2010-2020;

    Number of Child Protection Case (CPC) by Type of Sexual Abuse:

    Incest

    Sexual intercourse with relatives

    Sexual intercourse with non-relatives

    Other

Can you clarify:

#1 What is the definition of incest vs. sexual intercourse with a
relative?

#2 The category of "other" is the largest by far and can cover anything
from indecency to forced involvement in child pornography.  For example
the Police Dept provides this breakdown: Rape, Indecent Assault, Unlawful
Sexual Intercourse, Gross Indecency, Incest, Buggery, Indecent Conduct
towards child under 16, etc. If it cannot be broken down, please explain
why.

Sincerely,

Taura Edgar

www.talkhongkong.org

顯示引用部分

Dear Mr/Ms Taura Edgar,

Access to Information

Re: Application No. 4055/2021

I refer to your email of 30 March 2022 on the follow-up question regarding
our reply provided on the same day.  You would like the category of
“other” in the “Child Sexual Abuse Case by Type and by Nature from 2010 to
2020” the Social Welfare Department (“SWD”) sent you broken down (e.g.
oral sex, procuring a child to masturbate others/expose his/her sexual
organs, or to pose in an obscene way/watch sexual activities of others,
production of pornographic material, forcing a child to engage in
prostitution, etc.) and if it cannot be broken down, you would like our
explanation.

2.             Please find our reply below-

SWD does not collect specification of “other forms of sexual activity” in
the Child Protection Registry data input form and hence we do not have the
breakdown of “other”.

3.           Please contact me at 2892 5628 if you have any enquiries.

Regards,

(Ms Heather CHAN)

for Director of Social Welfare

-----Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]> 撰寫:-----
收件人: FOI requests at Social Welfare Department <[Social Welfare Department request email]>
寄件人: Taura Edgar <[FOI #917 email]>
日期: 03/30/2022 03:39下午
主旨: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Re: 回覆: Freedom of
Information request - Historical Statistics of CSA Cases at SWD

Dear Social Welfare Department,

Thank your for your clarification of incest vs intercourse with relative.
 

Let me clarify my second request.  

The document you kindly sent me "Child Sexual Abuse Case by Type and by
Nature from 2010 to 2020" lists only 4 categories: Incest, Sexual
intercourse with relatives, sexual intercourse with non-relatives and
Other.

The category of "Other" is the largest by far and can cover many crimes as
I am well aware.  It is important to get a clearer view on what types of
sexual crimes against children are taking place other than penetration in
order to plan for prevention.  I would like the category of "other" broken
down (e.g. oral sex, procuring a child to masturbate others/expose his/her
sexual organs, or to pose in an obscene way/watch sexual activities of
others, production of pornographic material, forcing a child to engage in
prostitution, etc.)

If it cannot be broken down, please explain why.

Sincerely.

Taura Edgar

顯示引用部分