I am now 17 years old, because I started my new life 17 years ago when I left my ex-husband. My painful experiences turned into a driving force for me."
Liu Ngun Fung, born in 1949, is chairlady of the Hong Kong Association for the Survivors of Women Abuse (Kwan Fook), which advocates self/mutual-assistance. Having liberated herself from her husband’s violence, Liu provides services to the women in need as a counter to the patriarchal contempt of the female body and autonomy. She demands an improvement of various social policies, including those on welfare, housing and medicine, so as to build a better environment for the abused women and their children.
Kwan Fook was established as an independent NGO in 1997. Its aim is to bring together abused women to help each other so that they can gain support from each other to begin a new life. The population policy effective on 1 January 2004 bars new immigrants from China from receiving benefits and housing assistance from the government in their first seven years of stay in Hong Kong. This unfavorable policy pushes many abused new immigrants into staying with their abusers. Liu is trying hard to plead a modification to this sexually/racially discriminatory policy in order to avoid new immigrant women becoming double victims. In 2004, a family tragedy happened in Hong Kong. The involved social worker and sanctuary, and the police shirked their responsibilities; Liu and her teammates did all they could to expose the truth, forcing the police to admit their mistakes and the cover-up. The police paid her back with a warning letter, saying the mourning activities she arranged for the victims were characterized as public procession and hence violated the public order ordinance. But, Liu did not panic; she advised people not to be afraid for she believes social justice will not be deferred by patriarchal or police power. Liu demands an improvement in social policies, including those on welfare, housing and medicine, so as to build a better environment for the abused women and their children, helping them to begin a new life.
Hong Kong Association for the Survivors of Women Abuse (Kwan Fook)