RIYADH, 25 January — A Saudi female doctor has called upon the authorities to set up a national committee to protect children from physical, psychological and sexual abuse.
Dr. Huda Qattan, a pediatric consultant at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center here, said 110 cases of child abuse have been reported in the capital city alone during the past five years.
Of these, 40 were admitted to King Faisal Hospital and 70 to other hospitals in Riyadh, Qattan, who is chairperson of the committee for protecting children’s rights formed in 1994, pointed out.
The cases of child abuse varied from bone fractures due to beatings and burns on various parts of the body to sexual assaults.
She said most of these attacks took place inside homes and the culprits were either their parents or brothers or servants. In some cases women — mothers, sisters or housemaids — were the attackers.
Qattan said KFSH has already made a proposal to set up the national committee, which is awaiting approval from the Justice Ministry.
Such a committee, she said, was essential to address the problems being faced by children at psychological, social, medical and legal levels, and to bring the issue under the control of a single body.
The committee should include representatives from the ministries of labor and social affairs, health, justice, interior and education, the Presidency for Girls’ Education and major Saudi hospitals.
The committee will start its work in Riyadh in the first phase and set out regulations to prevent the various types of child abuse.
She said the hospital would hold a medical seminar on Feb. 5-6 to address the issue. Experts from the United States, Canada and Saudi Arabia will present papers.
