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The Commission on Children (CoC) held a "Child Protection Harmony Fun Day" event at the Kowloon Masjid & Islamic Centre on October 11. The event marked the 100-day countdown to the commencement of the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance on January 20 next year, with an aim to enhance the awareness of the Ordinance and promote child protection among members of the public and ethnic minority communities.
The opening ceremony was officiated by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare and Vice-chairperson of the CoC Mr Chris Sun, Commissioner Chow Yat-ming, the Director of Social Welfare Mr Edward To, and the Chairman of the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong
Mr Saeed Uddin.
In his opening remarks, Mr Sun said that the Government has launched the Child Protection Campaign to dovetail with the implementation of the Ordinance and to enhance the understanding of the mandatory reporting regime among specified professionals and members of the public. The Commissioner emphasised that the Force has been committed to enhancing community engagement of ethnic minority groups and has been promoting the Ordinance through multiple channels.
To combat violent crimes and child abuse cases, Crime Support Group established the Vulnerable Witness Support Cadre in 2022. Over 250 professionally trained police officers are responsible for investigating child abuse cases and conducting recorded interviews with vulnerable witnesses. In the same year, the Force, the Department of Justice and the Social Welfare Department jointly established the Vulnerable Witness and Child Protection Task Force to enhance the effectiveness of handling child abuse cases. Since May this year, the Police has briefed over 360 members of non-ethnic Chinese communities on the Ordinance.
