Seminars increase muscle in child abuse battle Officers have received a boost in child abuse awareness thanks to a successful series of seminars conducted by two overseas experts. About 1,200 Government staff, including judges, social workers, police officers, lawyers, doctors, nurses andclinical psychologists attended the week-long series of seminars at Princess Margaret Hospital from May 24 to 29. Co-organised by the Child Protection Policy Unit, Hospital Authority and the Social Welfare Department, the range of topics included: the role of police and medical professionals in child protection; diagnosis of injuries; interview of witnesses; interrogation of suspects; child pornography and the Internet; and the future direction and policy of child protection. The seminars emphasised the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach in child abuse cases, focusing on training and investigation. Bill Walsh chats to (L to R) CSP C HQ Thomas Chan, SP CPPU Maria Shiu and ACP Crime Fung Siu-yuen The experts said child abuse should be considered a priority by authorities and sufficient resources should be allocated not just to tackle the problem but to prevent it. It was important for governments and legislation to keep up to date with technology and the Internet which was being used by many in other countries to exploit children. One of the speakers, Lieutenant Bill Walsh of the Dallas Police Department in the United States, said authorities should look at several areas when formulating policy. Tackling family violence was of equal importance to tackling child abuse as there was correlation between the two. Reducing or eliminating domestic violence would allow healthy development of children and prevent them from copying their parents' violent traits with their own children. The 20-year police veteran, with 13 years experience in the department's family violence and child abuse and exploitation units, said another important area was technology, particularly with increasing numbers of Hong Kong kids gaining Internet access. "The US experience has shown that paedophiles are using computers to expand their reach as the Internet has no boundaries. The Web is the perfect tool for such offenders as it offers anonymity, "Mr Walsh said. He said offenders often accessed chat rooms and other sites frequented by youngsters, and pretended they were also kids to help befriend their unsuspecting victims and arrange to meet them. This can lead to acts of sexual abuse. "The Internet is a big up-coming challenge for authorities and I think the Hong Kong Police are well prepared to address these issues. It's good to see the Hong Kong Police is interested in this and the leadership is there to meet these new challenges of dealing with sex offenders, "Mr Walsh said. He said prevention of child abuse and computer crime, although highly challenging as a long-term solution, was the best approach. It may not reap immediate results but will effectively minimise the problem through the passage of time. Bill Walsh explains the importance of multi-disciplinary action Mr Walsh reiterated that priority should be given to prevention in resources allocation. Superintendent of the CPPU Maria Shiu said she was pleased with the good turnout and was confident the seminars were successful in illustrating the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration in combating the problem of child abuse. "The Hong Kong Police has moved forward together with other departments in improving services for victims and their families. "The seminars aimed to enrich professional knowledge and share experiences with overseas experts. The training proceeded very well with the objectives achieved, "Mrs Shiu said. What the officers thought... Here's what some of the Force staff who attended the Multi-disciplinary Training seminars had to say afterwards. Tseung Kwan O Division Miscellaneous Enquiries Sub-Unit Commander Woman Inspector Winnie Lui: "The seminars were very useful and relevant to my work. "I have learnt a lot about investigations on child fatalities due to abuse, such as Shaken Baby Syndrome. "The contents were rich and the speakers were full of enthusiasm." Lei Muk Shue Division Crime Support Team Woman Detective Senior Police Constable Cheng Fai-yee: "Although I have seldom handled serious child abuse cases, I found the seminars very interesting, broadening my views and making me see things from different perspectives. The more I heard, the more I wanted to know." Kowloon West Regional Missing Persons Unit Woman Inspector Wong Mei-kuen: "The topics were not only useful in handling child abuse investigations but they could also be applied to other police investigations such as the topic on interrogation of suspects and interviewing witnesses. "I particularly remembered Mr Walsh's remarks that a child abuse case might look like an accident and vice versa. My alertness has certainly increased after the seminars." << Back to Index >>