The Central Registration System for Domestic Violence Cases listed 18 suspected domestic violence cases in the first half of this year, the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) said in a statement on Sunday.
Among the 18 suspected cases, 10 referred to spousal abuse, four to child abuse and one to abuse of the elderly, while one case has been classified as domestic violence between other family members, the statement said.
According to Article 12 of the Law on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence, it is not up to the Social Affairs Bureau to decide on the penal repercussions of domestic violence.
Fourteen of the suspected domestic violence cases in the first six months of the year involved physical violence (77.8 per cent of the total), while two cases (11.1 per cent) involved mental abuse, one case (5.5 per cent) involved various forms of violence and aggression, and one case (5.5 per cent) involved sexual abuse, according to the statement.
The bureau gathers reported domestic violence cases and inputs them into its central registration system in order to analyse related domestic violence cases in terms of their phenomena, features and trends, with the aim of coming up with measures to prevent and combat domestic violence, the statement noted.
According to the statement, once a suspected domestic violence case has been reported, IAS officials liaise with social workers and counselling professionals from private institutions to work out appropriate measures to deal with the issue.
According to previous years’ reports released on the IAS website, the numbers of domestic violence cases have been decreasing in recent years – 96 cases were reported in 2017, 74 cases in 2018, and 46 cases last year.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
PHOTO © Carlos NKS
