Press Releases
Government to extend protection for domestic violence victims
The Government would propose amendments to the Domestic Violence Ordinance to
enhance protection for victims of domestic violence, a spokesman for the Health,
Welfare and Food Bureau said today (June 13).
The amendment bill, to be gazetted on Friday (June 15), will be introduced into
the Legislative Council (Legco) on June 27.
"Under the amendment bill, improvements will be introduced to four broad areas
following a comprehensive review of the current legislation and taken into
account the views of the Legco Welfare Services Panel, various advisory boards
and concerned stakeholders," the spokesman said.
First, the scope of protected persons will be considerably expanded. Not only
will former spouses or former cohabitants of opposite sex be covered under the
amendment bill, the ordinance, once amended will also extend protection to
people who have been molested by their parents, grandparents, children,
grandchildren, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces or cousins, or
by the spouses of such relatives, or such relatives of their spouses.
Secondly, protection for minors under the age of 18 will be much enhanced.
Minors will be allowed to apply for an injunction in their own right by their
next friends, against molestation by their parents, or such relatives as set out
above.
In addition, the court will be empowered to vary or suspend a custody or access
order relating to a minor when it grants an injunction excluding the abuser from
certain places.
Thirdly, to better protect domestic violence victims in general, the court can
in future attach an authorisation of arrest to an injunction order if it
reasonably believes that the abuser will likely cause bodily harm to the
applicant or the minor concerned. At present, the court can only do so if the
abuser has caused actual bodily harm to the applicant or the minor.
Also, the court may also extend the injunction order or the authorisation of
arrest for as many times as necessary, with the overall validity period extended
from six months at present to two years in future.
Fourthly, the court may, in future, in granting a non-molestation order under
the Domestic Violence Ordinance, require the abuser to attend an anti-violence
programme as approved by the Director of Social Welfare, seeking to change the
attitude and behaviour of the abuser that lead to the granting of the injunction
order.
Such an arrangement can facilitate rehabilitation of the abusers which will be
conducive to the better prevention of recurrence of domestic violence.
"The coverage of the amendment bill is fairly wide, including both immediate and
extended family relationships. With the new legislation in place, protection to
victims of domestic violence will be greatly enhanced," the spokesman said.
"Also, all the protected persons, irrespective of whether they are residing with
their abusive spouses or relatives, will enjoy the same protection under the new
law.
"This is an even more comprehensive scope of protection than those advanced by
some advocacy groups. It also extends beyond practices of some overseas
jurisdictions, which cover in their domestic violence laws only relatives living
in the same households," the spokesman said.
The spokesman said the proposed amendments, together with other enhanced
measures and services that the Government had introduced over the last few
years, reflected the Government's commitment to addressing the domestic violence
problem.
"We trust that they will receive support from Legco and the public," he said.
The ordinance provides civil remedies to domestic violence victims. The law
currently enables a party to a marriage, or a man and a woman in cohabitation,
to obtain quick and temporary relief from molestation by applying to the court
for an injunction order containing any or all of the following provisions:
(a) a provision restraining the other party from molesting the applicant or any
child living with the applicant (a non-molestation order);
(b) a provision excluding the other party from the matrimonial home or from a
specified part of the matrimonial home, or from a specified area (an exclusion
order); and
(c) a provision requiring the other party to permit the applicant to enter and
remain in the matrimonial home or in a specified part of the matrimonial home
(an entry order).
It also empowers the court to attach a power of arrest to a non-molestation
order or an exclusion order if it is satisfied that the other party has caused
actual bodily harm to the applicant of the child concerned.
Ends/Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:09
NNNN