JEDDAH, 28 October 2005 — A refuge for the victims of violent abuse against women and children opened in Jeddah on Wednesday. The first in the Kingdom, it comes as a result of concern by the local authorities over the rising number of cases of violent abuse against children under eighteen and women in recent years.
The shelter is run and administrated by the Al-Birr Charitable Society and its foundation follows on from the newly formed committee approved by Interior Minister Prince Naif last July to address the problem of the abuse of women and children.
The committee will include members from Makkah Governorate, Social Affairs Ministry, police and health services and deal with all cases of abuse against women and children. Its main job is to protect children under the age of 18 and women by giving advice, solving their problems and, in urgent cases, providing a shelter to guarantee the victims safety.
President of Al-Birr Society Saleh Al-Turki said that the opening of the shelter is a big step. Not only does it acknowledge the existence of the problem of abuse but also helps in resolving them. He added that the shelter would cooperate with UNICEF by providing them with data for their special studies.
Fatmah Ghazi, the director of the shelter, told Arab News that the shelter would be able to host 150 victims. It will only accept cases transferred from the social affairs office, the governorate, the police or the Ministry of Education. Ghazi added that the shelter is supposed to be a “temporary” home for abuse victims until their problems are solved. Social workers at the shelter are to provide emotional support to the victims.
