Hong Kong Federation of Women's Centres (hereinafter referred to as "HKFWC") was established in 1981. It has been focusing on the living conditions of grassroots women, dedicated to promoting gender equality and advocating for women's rights. HKFWC has established the first women's support hotline in Hong Kong, providing free legal consultations on family law. It offers legal support and frontline counseling for cases involving marriage difficulties and domestic violence, as well as support services for women after divorce. Single-parent families face different difficulties and challenges at various stages, including legal issues and psychological pressure before divorce, as well as problems related to finances, childcare, and housing after divorce. Each single-parent family has unique circumstances, and the government should promptly fill in support gaps to ensure that divorced women can receive timely assistance.
Women enduring violence due to the lack of financial capability and secure housing
Under the traditional notion of "men as breadwinners, women as homemakers," women are expected to take on the role of family carers after marriage, while husbands are responsible for economic activities and provide women with a "household allowance" to cover living expenses. This model often leaves women economically dependent and vulnerable to losing their income in cases of deteriorating marital relationships or domestic violence. It also makes them susceptible to being used as a tool of threat by the male partner within the family. Therefore, when women experience domestic violence, they often fear being unable to meet future living expenses and endure the violence silently. Furthermore, when they seek divorce or report domestic violence, the lack of a safe place to stay discourages them.
Although the government currently provides social security assistance to financially disadvantaged women, most of the assistance is based on the family unit. Without divorce as a prerequisite, women cannot successfully apply for assistance in their own capacity if the male partner is unwilling or fails to submit financial documents, leaving them unable to change their predicament. Additionally, while the government does offer compassionate transitional housing for women who are in the process of applying for divorce after assessment, the application criteria are often vague and overlook non-physical forms of abuse, such as psychological and verbal abuse. As a result, many women are unable to successfully apply for transitional housing.
We suggest that the government should establish an "Emergency Assistance Fund for Crisis Families" to help women cope with the financial burdens of domestic violence and divorce, including costs and rent for relocation, providing them with a safe space. Additionally, the government should consider adjusting the current eligibility criteria for social security assistance to allow individual applications, reducing situations where women are unable to apply due to unilateral non-cooperation. Moreover, in defining domestic violence, psychological and verbal abuse should be included as forms of abuse, not just physical or sexual abuse, as they also cause significant harm and impact on women.
Complex legal procedures
When women wish to initiate divorce proceedings, the current forms used by the Family Court are often complicated and difficult for self-represented individuals to understand. This frequently leads to errors or insufficiently specific information on the forms, resulting in the inability to submit them. Besides, the current process of submitting various forms requires individuals to personally visit the court repeatedly. Therefore, it is recommended to simplify the forms and provide online examples or guidelines to reduce instances where applicants are unable to complete the forms correctly and have to resubmit them. Moreover, most documents need to be delivered by women to their spouses, either through mail or in person. However, any complications that arise during this process, such as evasion or failure to deliver documents on time, can significantly slow down the entire divorce procedure.
We recommend that the government further simplify divorce documents and eliminate unnecessary legal procedures, while also reducing the workload of the courts. Regarding the issue of document delivery, it should be noted that individuals can currently rely on bailiffs to serve legal documents. However, this service is not widely known or utilized. We suggest considering the practice of the Small Claims Tribunal, where the court assigns bailiffs to serve court documents, to minimize delays in case progression due to document delivery.
Lack of emotional support for single mothers
Single mothers often bear various burdens, including economic responsibilities, childcare, household chores, and family relationships. These tasks occupy their personal, social, and rest time. The mental health of single mothers is greatly affected by the stress and lack of relaxation time. They have a need to address their emotions, but often have no outlet, leading to the development of depression. Currently, there are no dedicated service centers specifically tailored for single mothers. The closest service units are comprehensive family service centers, which primarily focus on family units, and comprehensive community mental health centres, which require a certain level of mental distress, such as having a mood disorder, to access their services. This situation leaves single mothers without sufficient support to address their emotional needs.
As comprehensive family service centres cater to a wide range of individuals, there is a possibility that they may not fully address the needs of single mothers in a specific community. Therefore, the government should consider establishing dedicated single-parent service centres to provide emotional support, social network connections, and respite services for single mothers. This would help alleviate their emotional distress.
Remaining severe situation of poverty among single-parent
Maintenance payments are one of the significant sources of income for single mothers after divorce, helping them sustain their living expenses. However, frontline experience has shown that women face certain difficulties and obstacles in the process of applying for and recovering maintenance. Timely and full payment of alimony is the responsibility of the paying party, but the current system fails to effectively ensure that the recipient receives the rightful amount of maintenance. As a result, they may experience harassment, distress, and financial difficulties.
On the other hand, the problem of poverty among single-parent households is extremely severe. According to the "2020 Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report," the number of pre-policy intervention single-parent poor households was 36,000, with a poverty rate as high as 49.2%. The poverty status of single-parent households remains significant even without policy intervention. As a community with a higher risk of poverty, single parents need to face economic pressures and caregiving responsibilities alone, in addition to dealing with issues such as delinquent alimony and crises in divorced families. This makes poverty among single mothers particularly deserving of attention.
We have been advocating for the establishment of a maintenance mediation agency or department to coordinate the functions of various departments, collect case data, and assist the needy party in recovering and collecting maintenance more efficiently. This would help avoid situations where the recipient does not receive the alimony and reduce the burden of navigating between the court and the Social Welfare Department while facing economic difficulties. Public education should also be conducted to enhance the understanding of the responsibilities and rights of both the paying party and the women themselves.
Single parents struggle to juggle multiple roles
In intact families before divorce, family members usually have clear roles. Typically, the husband is the breadwinner, while the wife takes on the role of the primary carer. In some cases, families may have dual-income parents, but this is more common when the children are older and capable of self-care or have someone else to look after them. However, for single mothers who are raising young children, they are required to take on multiple roles after divorce. In addition to being the primary carer, they also have to shoulder the role of the financial provider. Due to limited time, their work hours often overlap with the time needed for household chores. As a result, single mothers are forced to make trade-offs between the two. They cannot devote their full energy to either role because focusing too much on one side would mean neglecting the other. They may have to compress their work hours to manage household tasks, or if they cannot reduce their work hours, the family may experience a standstill or a state of suspension. In situations with limited income, dedicating more time to work means sacrificing the family, while dedicating more time to caring for the family means a reduction in income. Therefore, these two identities often conflict with each other, causing significant distress for single mothers.
The government should provide sufficient and affordable childcare services in the community, allowing women to work outside the home with peace of mind. Additionally, initiatives promoting "care without quitting" should be implemented, encouraging companies to create women-friendly work environments that enable single mothers to earn income while balancing their caregiving responsibilities. Furthermore, the government can offer more employment matching programs to make it easier for single mothers to find suitable jobs.