Media portrayal of a hidden problem: An analysis of Hong Kong newspaper coverage of child maltreatment in 2016

As a mass communication tool, more guidelines are needed to formulate public messages about child maltreatment that can improve individual, community, and structural capacities to prevent, identify, and respond to children who are victimized by abuse and neglect. This is especially important in jurisdictions where no mandatory reporting framework exists to help identify vulnerable children, and where the majority of child maltreatment is brought to the attention of authorities by families and those living within the child's community.