Child Abuse

The problem of child abuse has become very serious
Wafaa Al-Kredia
guest contributor

CHILD abuse is a worldwide problem and not only in Saudi Arabia. We unfortunately don't like to talk about the problem and so too often ignore it. In the United States, on the other hand, the problem receives attention from many authorities and organizations for children's rights. Between 1985 and 1992, the problem of child abuse has become very serious, increasing by 50 percent - from 30 children abused per 1,000 to 45 per 1,000.

I have recently received a briefing about this problem in Saudi Arabia; it was sent to me by Dr. Huda Abdullah Qattan, chairperson of the Committee for Protecting Children's Rights at King Faisal Specialist Hospital. Dr. Huda affirms that the problem is real, horrifying and hushed-up. This is due to a number of factors, such as the difficulty of finding clear evidence of an alleged abuse, the possibility of harming the reputation of the child's family as well as other personal, social and legal considerations.

Since doctors who might go public with cases of child abuse fear being harassed by the authorities or concerned families, they decide to drop the case. This doesn't mean that the problem doesn't exist; it does - as Dr. Huda confirmed - but we lack corroborating figures or reliable statistics.

According to the report sent to me, violence in the family is due to three principal reasons: the parents' psychological state, the existence of an aggressive child in the family or some event which has caused tension and stress within the family. Violence increases in such circumstances and, the report continues, are represented by the existence of disabled children or children suffering from malnutrition, unwanted pregnancy and families who are socially isolated or run financial troubles. Violent accidents occur, first and foremost, to the females in the family, said Dr. Huda.

King Faisal Specialist Hospital has established an unprecedented program, the aim of which is to uncover cases of child abuse in the Kingdom, channels for reporting the cases and ways to avoid such cases in the future. In support of these aims, the Committee for Protecting Children's Rights was established in 1994.

IN Columbia, the police arrested a young man accused of stabbing a woman. It was not difficult to arrest him since the assault did not kill the woman and she lived to describe the defendant to the police and identify him in a lineup. The young man, curiously, confessed to the investigator that he had killed three women in the past year.

He described his three crimes in full detail. In light of his confessions, he was given the death penalty. The story should have ended here, but it did not. There was another surprise for the court when the young man calmly stated that he had killed 35 women over the past two years. Although the judge laughed when he heard the number, the young man did not flinch. When the judge asked him why he had committed such crimes and against women in particular, the young man replied that he was avenging himself for a mother who had ill-treated him when he was a child. When he married, his wife treated him the same way.

My advice to mothers and wives, 'Don't be tough. Treat your husbands and children nicely. Beware violence and ill-treatment.'