Are Hong Kong teachers, healthcare and social workers more alert to child abuse?

Hong Kong has seen a rise in the number of potential child abuse cases reported by healthcare, education and social workers in recent years, with such professionals accounting for nearly 20 per cent of calls to a hotline, an NGO has said.

Against Child Abuse chairman Patrick Cheung Chi-hung attributed the continuous rise in calls by professionals from the healthcare, education and social sectors since 2022-23 to the passing of a law making it mandatory to report suspected child abuse.

“In 2024, the mandatory reporting ordinance was gazetted. For one or two years before that, there was heated debate in the Legislative Council; it raised a lot of awareness among professionals,” he said.

The Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance, passed in July last year, is expected to come into effect in January 2026.

Under the new law, 25 categories of professionals, encompassing teachers, social workers, doctors, among others, will be required to report any suspected cases of child abuse.

The organisation said its hotline received 1,144 calls in 2024-25, with 207 suspected cases of child abuse involving 241 youngsters arising from the reports.