HONG KONG: "Facilities in Place for Abused Elderly"

HONG KONG (The Standard), June 19, 2006: Despite calls for the government to set-up half-way houses for elderly abuse victims, an official said Sunday there are other arrangements in place for elders in need. "There are shelters for abused children and women, but none for elders," an older member of the audience said at City Forum in Victoria Park Sunday. Anna Mak Chow Suk-har, assistant director (family and child welfare) of the Social Welfare Department agreed. But, she said, there are "76 emergency accommodation placements" where abused elders can live for up to three months. She admitted the government needs to promote these facilities. Mak said the number of reported cases of elderly abuse was rising rapidly - from 329 in 2004 to 568 last year. Elderly abuse by "non- relatives" - mostly neighbors, domestic helpers or friends - surged 20-fold from 10 cases in 2004 to 200 last year. Civic Party vice chairman and social welfare sector legislator Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, quoting an earlier survey conducted by the Hong Kong Christian Service in 2002, said 5 percent of the elderly population suffered abuse. "That means there are 40,000 to 50,000 abused elders in our society," he said. Compared with the reported figure of 568 last year, that's only the tip of the iceberg," Cheung told the forum. Alfred Chan Cheung-ming, vice chairman of the Elderly Commission and director of the Asia- Pacific Institute of Aging Studies, was hesitant in calling the rising elder abuse figures a trend. But he added the increasing pattern of elder abuse in Hong Kong is similar to that in western, developed countries. "Elders are more vulnerable in the eyes of the abusers because of the little support provided due to Hong Kong's weakening family bonds," Chan said. © 2005 The Standard Sing Tao Media Corporation.