The HKFWC has been promoting attention to women’s plight in our society and demanding the government to offer pertinent services. To let the public know more about the stories behind divorced women, the HKFWC has launched an art exhibition called “The Color of Divorcees' Lives" on the 1st and 2nd June (Sat & Sun) at the Nido Asia Art Gallery in Sheung Wan. The event included the Human Library Hong Kong hosted by Mr Pong Yat Ming and the theatre workshop led by experienced applied drama practitioner Ms Ginny Tam. We provide a chance for the divorcees to show their work to face the public and call for the government to address their needs through policy and law change.
Single-parent poverty poses a serious problem
Single-parents have always been a vulnerable group that needs assistance. According to the data of the Census and Statistics Department, until the end of 2015, the poverty rate of single-parent households was as high as 35.6%, much higher than that of households with children (16%). The problem of single-parent poverty is closely linked with the gender issue. This is because most single-parent poverty involves single mothers, over 40% of whom were living below the poverty line.
Hard to execute maintenance orders
According to the statistics on maintenance orders conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in 2016, around 55,100 divorced or separated individuals have received alimony. While half of the alimony was not paid, only less than 10% interviewees took legal actions. An art exhibition called "Nine things you don't know about alimony" has shown that alimony may not be able to help the divorced manage their family finance. In reality, the payee has to face a number of problems. For example, the payee has to personally remind the payer or even her ex-spouse. The Chinese forms in the domestic relations court are very difficult to understand. Some women have said, "they know every character but still don't know how to fill out the form". Also, the charges for application archive and scheduling hearing start at $630. Some women complained that "the poor aren't even qualified to divorce."
This gallery shows the rarely known predicament faced by many divorced women. To ease their pressure, the HKWFC has made the following policy suggestions:
- Improve CSSA by adopting the "first grant, deduct later" approach
- Adjust the income exemption calculation of CSSA for single parents
- Cash subsidy: the Community Care Fund should set up an emergency transitional allowance to help low-income divorcees who are facing legal procedures
- Set up a specialized alimony department