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The Family Conflict and Sexual Violence Policy Unit under the Support Group of Crime Wing held the Closing cum Award Presentation Ceremony for the Let’s T.A.L.K. - Child Protection Campaign 2022 on November 20. The Campaign, with the theme “Bystander Intervention”, aims to arouse public awareness on child protection. Through a series of educational and promotional activities, it appeals to the public for early identification and proactive intervention when encountering child abuse cases.
In his speech at the closing ceremony, Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Yuen Yuk-kin said that when compared to the same period last year, the number of child abuse cases in the first 10 months of this year showed a slight rising trend. He pointed out that plenty of the cases were discovered and actively reported by carers of children, or revealed when the children actively sought assistance after being abused. This reflects that the general public increasingly pay more attention to child abuse cases and show greater awareness of child protection. Moreover, the Government is legislating on a mandatory reporting mechanism for child abuse cases to further safeguard children’s well-being and significantly raise the awareness of reporting of child abuse cases. He believes that the general public have reached a consensus on contributing to child protection. Therefore it is time for taking forward the relevant legislative work.
The Deputy Commissioner (Operations) expressed gratitude to the enthusiastic supporters of the Campaign from all walks of life, including the generous sponsors, Social Welfare Department, non-government organisations which have been closely collaborating with the Force, as well as the schools, parents and students actively participating in the Campaign.
A series of activities were introduced during the Campaign. They included enhancement of one-stop application for child protection, a new series of animations about child protection, and the first social experiment focused on bystanders, “Be a Little Hero” Badge Design Competition, and the mobile exhibition on a tram.
The “Be a Little Hero” Badge Design Competition attracted participation of more than 150 schools and 10 000 upper primary school students with unlimited creativity. The creative and inspiring submissions have successfully nourished empathy and courage in the students and encouraged them to overcome bystander effect. Over 80 awardees received various awards from the officiating guests.
Another core event of the Campaign was the social experiment targeting the general public. The experiment was held with a young actress being left alone on the street, and the behaviour of bystanders was analysed. More than
3 500 people passed by in the one-hour experiment, among whom 180 noticed the girl. But only six of them, representing 3 per cent of those who noticed the girl, approached her to ask if she needed help. The Force takes this opportunity to remind members of the public that a proactive action may indeed prevent a case of child abuse.
