Director of Social Welfare Paul Tang says the department's Family & Child Protective Services Units has grown from five to eight teams and will expand to 10 teams in 2007-08. 

In the coming year, the department will continue to monitor closely the need for team splitting and additional social work manpower, he added.

The places in women's refuge centres will also increase from 2006's 162 to 180 by March, while the department will continue to look for more resources to strengthen the service this year.

Speaking at a seminar today, Mr Tang said there were 3,412 newly reported battered-spouse cases from January to September last year, up 37.1% over the same period in 2005. There were also 594 child-abuse cases in the period, a rise of 6.6%.

Public awareness enhanced

The increase was expected as the awareness of the public, frontline staff and victims was enhanced as a result of the stepping up of public education, publicity and training by the Government, he noted.

Mr Tang said the Government is committed to combatting the problem, adding cross-sectoral collaboration is crucial in the prevention and intervention of this difficult and challenging task.  

The Government has launched preventive measures to combat domestic violence, including introducing the Comprehensive Child Development Service and Family Support Programme.

To help solve childcare problems, the service hours of some nurseries, kindergartens and occasional childcare services have been extended. Day foster care service will be provided and some mutual help childcare programmes will also be subvented.

Conselling service for batterers

As for families at risk, the department had, since January last year, introduced a pilot batterer intervention programme". So far, 11 counselling groups had been conducted with the participation of 88 batterers.

"Upon completion of the pilot programme by March, 2008, we expect no less than 27 counselling groups will have been organised. We are hopeful a more effective strategy can be developed for these families to prevent the problem from worsening," Mr Tang said.