JEDDAH, 25 January 2006 — Defining, assessing and recommending solutions to the issue of domestic abuse in Saudi Arabia was the aim of the first Child-Spouse Abuse Conference held at the International Medical Center on Monday.

Domestic violence has been a hot topic in the media during the past two years, finally, with open discussions on cases, reasons, the legal system and the need for procedures to protect the victims. This conference presented the medical perspective on the issue as is often the case physicians and social workers at hospitals are the first and sometimes the only persons aware of the victim’s situation.

Dr. Maha Al-Atta, a family physician consultant, began the conference by talking about why this issue is important for physicians. “Because doctors are in a dilemma. They don’t know what to do to help the patient and they are limited in what they can do,” she said.

The problem is common in our society based on statistics by the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), which received 500 abuse cases last year nationwide, 220 cases of them were in the Western Province.

“Not because there is more abuse here than the other regions but because there is more awareness,” said Dr. Maha.

That brought up the under-reporting issue, that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

“The role of the doctor is to increase awareness, establish a system of notification, form intervention teams and push for a national unified policies,” said Dr. Maha.

Furthermore, the doctor recommended improving the quality of our education system that would teach our children their rights and communication skills and teach Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) morals in addition to being a role model.

“In Saudi Arabia, we lack statistics and data but according to some statistics, girls are abused more than boys, physical abuse is more common in Riyadh while negligence is more common in the Western Province and physical abuse is the most reported cases,” said Dr. Razaz Wali, one of the conference’s participants, who pointed out signs of abuse that doctors or teachers can notice.

What is needed is a system of intervention, prevention and immediate action of halting the abuse by removing the victim from the abuser, who is most often a parent, according to Dr. Razaz.

She listed the problems the NSHR faces in dealing with child-abuse cases, including:

• The need for the legal guardian’s permission to treat the child;

• Difficulty in proving abuse especially in cases of sexual abuse;

• Lack of consistency in legal punishment;

• Inability of the wife to report her husband according to the law; and

• Inability of the police or the NSHR to intervene if a child’s stay in the hospital due to injuries sustained is less than 20 days.

Dr. Razaz also spoke about the medical practice system that does not clarify or specify the role of the physician in cases of abuse except to vaguely say that he is supposed to cooperate with the relevant authorities and to report any suspected cases to the police.

Dr. Lama Rammal said that, according to research, the psychology of battered women is that of denial, followed by guilt in believing that it is their fault, then a feeling of enlightenment where she realizes it is not her but she stays in the marriage to try and work it out, and finally she reaches the stage of responsibility when she decides to leave.

The reasons why women might stay in abusive relationships include situational, emotional or personal. In Saudi Arabia, other contributing factors for staying might be family related, where the husband or the wife grew up in a violent family, in poverty, or other factors related to growing up in a male-dominant society.

There are also barriers and difficulties hospitals face in dealing with cases of spousal abuse, including lack of resources, lack of training and education, service limitations and the beliefs and biases of the service providers themselves.

Dr. Lama recommended increasing the capacity to collect data, doing research, promoting prevention, strengthening the care and support of service providers and having a national action plan.

At the end of the conference, the guest of honor, Muhammad Abdu Yamani, former minister of information, spoke about an Islamic approach to family relations based on how the Prophet treated his wives, his children, his friends and even his enemies with kindness and respect.

He spoke on how Islam emphasized treating women well and never harming them in any way. He also pointed to the role of the media and its negative effect on society and how it can be used to raise awareness.

“There is also the absence of freedom, which is one of our problems. We live in a closed society. Parents don’t give their children the freedom to express themselves, and we don’t talk freely about our issues in the media,” he said.