Protecting Social Workers against Threats or Harassment On The Job

Sir, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) takes the safety and well-being of our social service professionals very seriously, and we do not tolerate any forms of abuse. When our professionals face threats or harassment from clients, they should promptly report the matter to the Police, MSF as well as their employers.

Consistent reporting to the authorities is the most effective way to address such incidents. Following the report, my Ministry will provide guidance and support to the affected social worker while Police investigations are ongoing. If a Police investigation is not initiated, MSF will provide guidance to the affected social worker on lodging a Magistrate's Complaint.

Our social service professionals play a key role in supporting the vulnerable in society and deserve to be protected from all forms of abuse. This is a shared responsibility, between the Government and social service agencies who also play a crucial role by implementing robust safety policies for their staff.

Mr Speaker, our social workers are at the frontline when they deal with the protection and welfare of our vulnerables, from assessing and providing financial support to families in need to being the protector and gatekeeper to women and children who are facing physical and mental abuse at home. In the course of their work, I have seen, personally, our social workers being threatened on emails, stalked at their workplaces and complained against on social media. In a recent case, I have even seen a social worker being named and blamed openly, and her cell phone number being inadvertently released to an alleged abusive spouse and father she was protecting her wards from. While the Police was called in and eventually, the case was transferred to another social agency, the alleged abuser continues to stalk and threaten the case social workers, both past and present.

I have absolute empathy and respect for the work that our frontline social workers do as they have shown time and time again how they put the safety and dignity of their wards as a priority, sometimes even at the detriment of their own personal safety and reputation.

More must be done. Will the Ministry consider a public education campaign to let the public know about the work that our social workers do and the enforcement measures that the Ministry and Police will put in to defend our social workers? What can we do to ensure the mental well-being of our social workers and can more support come from the MSF if their social workers and SSA workers are put through a long stretch of abuse from uncooperative stakeholders on cases that they are working on? What intervention can the Ministry take to extract our social workers from such abusive situations?

Sir, I thank the Member for her supplementary questions and more importantly, for standing with and supporting our social service frontliners.

As I mentioned, consistent reporting is probably the best response to any social service professional who encounters a threat, verbal or physical abuse, or harassment. So, report it to the Police. And after the report has been lodged, MSF will appoint a dedicated officer to serve as a point of contact on behalf of the social service worker with the Police. And even if the case is assessed to have not crossed the line or threshold for proactive investigation, MSF may guide and advise the social service worker to pursue civil remedies in the form of a Magistrate's Complaint, if it is necessary.

We will consider the Member's suggestion on public education on measures that MSF can take to protect social service professionals. Like Ms Yeo, MSF does not tolerate any abuse of our social service frontliners and if there are specific cases that the Member has in mind for which MSF can assist with, we would be happy to follow up with her separately.