Latest news with #mandatoryreporting
South China Morning Post
18 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong to launch guide for professionals required to report child abuse cases
Hong Kong authorities will launch a guide for professionals required to report child abuse cases by the end of the month, which will include a decision tree that can be used as a legal defence in court. An ordinance that requires 25 education, healthcare and social work professions to report suspected cases of child abuse will come into effect on January 20 next year, with offenders liable for a maximum penalty of three months in jail and a HK$50,000 (US$6,370) fine. Welfare officials said at a legislative council meeting on Monday that a guide for these professionals would be released by the end of July and would include a decision tree and supplementary analytical framework. They also affirmed that more manpower and resources would be allocated to handle the anticipated uptick in child abuse case reports, such as residential childcare services and multi-professional support teams. 'The purpose of the guide is to help mandatory reporters identify suspected cases of child abuse and lay down the basic principles for their reference,' said Wendy Chau Fung-mui, assistant director of family and child welfare. 'The guide is a supplement, but not a replacement for the professional judgment of mandatory reporters … they do not have to use the decision tree when making a report if they have relevant experience.'
ABC News
4 days ago
- ABC News
Townsville grandparents call for change, 14 years after death of baby Mason Parker
The Queensland grandparents who fought successfully to introduce mandatory reporting laws for childcare workers say child safety should not be driven by crises. Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing. John and Sue Sandeman's 16-month-old grandson, Mason Parker, was murdered when he was in the care of his mother's then-partner, Troy William Reed, in Townsville in 2011. Mason's skull was fractured, and he died of a bowel rupture. Reed was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2013. Mason's Law, passed in 2016, made it mandatory for childcare workers to report suspected cases of child sexual and physical abuse. Daycare workers had noticed bruises on Mason's body, but it was not reported to external authorities. Sue Sandemen said recent sexual abuse allegations within the Victorian childcare industry made her feel that little had changed. The Queensland government this week held roundtable discussions with the childcare industry to discuss safeguarding measures in the wake of abuse allegations in Victoria. It has introduced new mandatory child safety training for all workers in the sector to help teach eductors to identify predators at facilities. It has also fast-tracked a scheme for childcare organisations to report concerns regarding staff and volunteers to the Queensland Family Child Commission, a recommendation from the 2017 Royal Commission, from July 2026. The government said this would allow for better reporting of behaviour that did not meet criminal thresholds and for this to be shared with Blue Card services, industry regulators and police. Mr Sandeman said action was needed sooner. "We can't understand why they can't start now. Why wait nearly 12 months for this to be introduced? "There are kids at daycare centres who are being abused or not looked after." He said it was not enough to hold child safety training annually. Education MinisterJohn Paul Langbroek said the Crisafulli government had delivered an extra $12.7 million for Queensland Regulatory Authority in 2025-2026. "We have to get this right and we will be working closely with the sector to ensure all the measures are successfully implemented to deliver real long-term safety improvement," he said. But Mr Sandeman remained wary of the new government's promises. "They're going to pour this money in," he said. "But how much goes into the office work and people just sitting in the office doing mundane work instead of checking daycare centres? "We've been through this all the time and all we hear is talk talk talk … and it's both sides of politics." Mr Landeman said he remained sceptical as to whether a profit-driven childcare industry was best placed to advise on safety reforms. Ms Sandeman said she remained concerned that the approach to child safety was still only driven by crises. "They've only been reactive to the incident which has happened in Victoria … if they're not in the news, or in the media, then nothing has been done." "We want to work together … we want to be a bipartisan group of people, working for the kids.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
M&S chairman accuses rivals of covering up cyber attacks
The chairman of Marks & Spencer has accused rivals of hiding cyber attacks as he called for mandatory reporting in the wake of the retailer's devastating breach. Archie Norman said he was aware of two other large attacks in recent weeks that had not been reported to authorities. M&S was sent reeling by a cyber attack in April linked to the hacking group Scattered Spider. The hack took its online operations offline for weeks and continues to affect parts of the business including its click-and-collect services. The attack, which Mr Norman said was down to a 'sophisticated impersonation', will cost the company £300m in gross profits. 'We do think that mandatory reporting is a very interesting idea,' he told MPs on the business and trade committee. 'A number of serious cyber attacks never get reported to the NCSC [National Cyber Security Centre]. In fact, we have reason to believe there have been two major cyber attacks of large British companies in the last four months which have gone unreported. 'I'm not on the boards of those companies, so I don't know – but that's what we have been advised. I don't think it would be regulatory overkill for companies of a certain size [that] you are required within a time limit to report those to the NCSC and that would enhance the central intelligence around this.' M&S executives said the threat from cyber attacks was severe enough that companies should be prepared to shut down their systems and run on pen and paper in the event of a hack. Nick Folland, M&S's general counsel, said: 'One of the things that we would say to others is make sure you can run your business on pen and paper because that's what you need to be able to do for a period of time while all your systems are down, because you take them down yourself for protection.' M&S, the Co-op and Harrods have been hit by cyber attacks linked to Scattered Spider in recent weeks, a group believed to be made up of teenagers in the US and UK. Mr Norman refused to say whether M&S had paid a ransom to the hackers to regain access to its systems. 'We don't think it's in the public interest to go into that, partly because it is a matter of law enforcement,' he said. Executives from the Co-op, asked later in the evidence session, confirmed that they had not paid a ransom. Mr Norman said M&S had doubled its cyber insurance cover last year, meaning it would recover a substantial portion of its £300m in lost profits but that it might take 18 months. He said the company had shared details of the attack with the FBI, adding that British cyber security authorities were 'limited in their resources'. 'If you want a growth economy, you need a cyber-resilient economy,' he added. Mr Norman said that in retrospect the company should have upgraded IT systems earlier but that in recent years the company had been recovering from a legacy of outdated infrastructure. 'Anybody who suffered an event like ours, it would be foolish to say there's not a thousand things you would like to have done differently,' he said.
South China Morning Post
27-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
Guidelines overdue on Hong Kong child abuse law
It is almost a year since the passage of a law requiring professionals working with children to report suspected cases of abuse. It is another six months of preparation before it comes into effect – time that must be put to good use to promote awareness and provide guidelines for professionals and institutions. Figures from the Social Welfare Department on child physical and sexual abuse in 2024 are a reminder of that. They show that the number of child sexual abuse cases is not only creeping up but has nearly doubled over the past decade to more than 500 in 2024. More than one in five of the sexual abusers last year was 16 years of age or below. This has prompted lawmakers to demand urgent attention from the government, and for an early release of guidelines on the implementation of a mandatory reporting mechanism under a law that criminalises failure to act. The latter suggestion is sensible. The law places a heavy responsibility on more than 100,000 professionals, including teachers, doctors, social workers, midwives and childcare staff. It was subject to much debate and amendments to safeguard them from unfair blame. The 1,504 child abuse cases recorded last year were up from 1,457 in 2023 and 1,439 in 2022. They also included 595 cases of physical abuse, 328 of neglect, 43 reports of multiple abuse and another 16 involving psychological abuse. More than 910 or 60.5 per cent of the victims were girls, half of whom suffered sexual abuse, while 58.1 per cent of male victims suffered physical harm. Among child abuse cases, nearly 60 per cent of all perpetrators were parents.
