Foster parents last resort for abused children

The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education have signed an agreement to assist physically and emotionally abused students in an effort to reduce the number of domestic violence cases.
Officials from the two ministries decided that the last resort for abused children should be the decision to give them into the care of foster parents.
“This arrangement was signed a year ago in an effort to reach school students who were being abused by parents or close family members. The first step was to visit boys and girls at their schools and spread awareness about domestic abuse and extend help to those who need it,” said Abdullah Al-Tawi, general manager of the Ministry of Social Affairs in the Makkah region. “We talked to teachers and supervisors and asked them to be our eyes in schools and monitor the students and call us when they suspect a certain act or anything that relates to domestic abuse,” he added.
According to Al-Tawi, when the Ministry of Social Affairs receives a call from a school, a team from the ministry visits the school and launches an investigation. “We interview the student and learn more about her/his case and then call her/his parents or the abuser to hear their side of the story to create a full case,” he said. “We start studying the case and the condition and hire a psychologist to help both sides find a better ground and stop the violence,” he added.
After the intervention, the ministry follows up on the case and continues the investigation.
“We have to find out the source behind the abuse and the cause to tackle the problem. If the abuse persists, then another solution must be found. As a first step, we usually recommend that the child be placed in the care of a close family member,” Al-Tawi said. “We continue checking up on the child and if the arrangement is still not suitable the last resort is to find a suitable foster family for the child,” he said.
“We need to make sure that children are in the best environment for their emotional and mental well-being,” said Al-Tawi. “We encourage students to call our special line and report any abuse so we can intervene early on. This approach is recommended not only in school, but for any adult who notices a child getting abused,” said the general manager.
Early intervention is the best way to help abused children, according to psychologist Nawal Al-Ghamdi. “The move taken by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education is the right one because students need to learn about their rights from an early age,” she said. “Taking children who suffer from domestic abuse away from their parents is a move taken by many countries and it’s a healthy option, as the child needs to be removed from the harmful environment,” she added.
Al-Ghamdi pointed out that the child might suffer from being away from his family but in the longer term the separation will be in the child’s interest.
Ahmed Rashid, an English-language teacher at a public school, said he supports the move taken by the two ministries.
“I will never forget the day when one of my students came to school with a black eye and bruises all over his body. He was humiliated and beaten in the street in front of his friends just because his father caught him smoking cigarettes,” he said. “He was 13 years old and it is natural that he would want to experience these things. The father should have talked to him about the harm of smoking and not hit him with a cable. He did not just hurt him physically, he also hurt him emotionally and mentally,” he added.