Anna Lee*, a Hongkonger in her forties, first realised the profound impact of the violence she experienced as a child when she became a mother herself.

As she raised her two children, now aged seven and 10, she was alarmed to find her emotional reactions mirroring the volatility of her own childhood.

“I found the degree of my sudden outbursts of anger not equivalent to the things my children had done, and I struggle to manage the emotion,” she said.

“That reminded me of my father losing his temper and breaking the toys that my brother and I were fighting over into pieces when we were young … I still remember how shocked I was.”

Lee’s childhood was marked by a cycle of physical and verbal abuse from her parents, with discipline taking the form of being hit with hangers or belts.

“I have forgotten how bad the injury was, but the fear of making mistakes has stayed with me,” she said.