Press Releases
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
On the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against
Women (November 25), the Women's Commission (WoC) called upon all sectors of the
community to dedicate themselves to eliminating domestic violence and making
concerted efforts to combat the problem collaboratively and creatively.
The Chairperson of the WoC, Ms Sophia Kao, said today (November 24): "Domestic
violence is not just a private matter of individual families, but a social
problem impacting on the wider community. It involves multi-faceted factors
relating to individuals, families, the community and society at large, and hence
requires multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral cooperation in tackling it.
"The recent family tragedy in Lok Fu and the rising number of domestic violence
cases have added impetus for us not only to act, but to act swiftly."
In January 2006, the WoC published a report entitled "Women's Safety in Hong
Kong: Eliminating Domestic Violence", which promotes a multi-dimensional
strategy to tackle domestic violence, and advocates gender awareness in the
society, gender equality and mutual respect within the family, and involves men
in the process.
Ms Kao said the WoC recognised the efforts of the various government departments
in taking improvement measures to strengthen prevention of domestic violence and
enhance services and support for victims of domestic violence.
"We urge the government to continue to accord priority to eliminating domestic
violence. More importantly, we appeal to all stakeholders to align efforts in
promoting awareness and changing attitudes and in early identification of abuse.
It is crucial to engage the collaborated and coordinated efforts of the
professionals, as well as everyone in the community, to proactively build a
community and neighbourhood network that renders care and support to the
vulnerable ones, and empowers them to seek help," Ms Kao said.
Ends/Friday, November 24, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:05
NNNN