Perfecting Divorce Support

According to the "Hong Kong Poverty Report 2020", the number of impoverished single-parent households was 36,000 before the policy intervention, with a poverty rate as high as 49.2%. As a group with a higher risk of poverty, they have to face enormous financial pressure and care responsibilities on their own, as well as deal with the default of alimony and divorced family crises, making single mothers in poverty a particular concern.

According to Article 16 of the United Nations’ “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women”, states parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations, including ensuring that men and women have equal rights and responsibilities in marriage and its dissolution. The number of divorce decrees in Hong Kong has increased from 6,295 in 1991 to 16,020 in 2020. Referring to the Census and Statistics Department's “Thematic Household Survey Report No. 61” in 2016, more than 40% of households who enforce maintenance orders failed to collect the full amount of maintenance payments, and nearly 40% of them considered the legal proceedings too complicated and failed to contact their ex-spouse. Moreover, more women were humiliated and even treated violently in the process of collecting maintenance.

In 2015, there were up to 13,900 defaulted maintenance cases. However, there were only 844 hearings of judgment summons in 2015, and only 35 attachment of income order applications to recover maintenance in 2016-2018, which is less than 1% of the total number of defaulted maintenance cases. Recovery of maintenance requires creditors to take the initiative to recover and adduce evidence, and the cooperation of the debtor. However, with the cumbersome legal procedures and lack of timely and deterrent measures, even if a single mother applies for single parent CSSA to meet her needs, she will also have to face complicated procedures before she can complete the application or be referred to the Legal Aid Department. It causes great distress to both the women who are owed maintenance and their children; and takes a toll on both their mental and financial well-being.

• Set up a Maintenance department to coordinate the functions of various units and collect case data, to more efficiently assist the party in need to recover maintenance, and prevent recipients from having to run between the court and the Social Welfare Department when they fail to receive maintenance and face financial difficulties, as well as to conduct public education to let payers and women know their responsibilities and rights
• Set up an emergency assistance fund for families in crisis to meet legal, housing, or other financial expenses for non-CSSA and low-income persons who are in the process of divorce, maintenance recovery, or domestic violence victims
• Improve the CSSA deduction system so that single-mother CSSA recipients who are defaulted on maintenance payments can be exempted from deductions by providing simple proof
• Implement modernization of family courts and legal advice to tie in with the development of the "Hong Kong Legal Cloud" and digitization of public services, to help divorced women handle family problems and seek legal advice, and enhance the operational efficiency of family courts

• Set up a "Divorce Support Advocacy Group" to work with women on divorce support and maintenance policy to increase public awareness by various advocacy activities and public education programs
• Lobby the community, compile policy responses and position papers, including responses to proposed policies, policy research reports, public opinion surveys, CEDAW shadow reports, etc
• Organize community events for public education and advocacy, such as Human Library, Policy Roundtable, Art Exhibition to raise public awareness on divorce-related issues