JEDDAH, 5 January 2005 — Members of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Makkah met yesterday with the higher court president to discuss laws and regulations on the issue of sexual abuse within the family.
The issue is very sensitive and has been one of the taboos in the media but it gained national attention recently after the society’s family committee took upon itself presenting the case of two teenage girls filing a complaint against their father in court.
The mother and her daughters filed the complaint with the NSHR, and the head of the family committee, Al-Jowhara Al-Angari, gave the case a priority in taking it to court and following it through.
“We are meeting with the court president to discuss the procedures and implementation of rulings given in such cases which have to be severe,” Al-Angari told Arab News.
The higher court held the second session of the case on Saturday but has not reached a decision yet.
According to Al-Madinah newspaper, the girls are seeking the death penalty for their father because they say he ruined their lives and turned them into hell.
“If we can’t have a death sentence for such a crime then we should at least pass a life sentence,” said Al-Angari.
The father is completing a 10-year jail sentence for his crime but efforts have been made to reduce it to five years.
The girls’ lawyer is asking that the father be revoked of guardianship of the girls. “Revoking guardianship should be an automatic decision once sentencing has been passed rather than make the victims go through the ordeal again,” said Al-Angari.
The NSHR is intervening in another case of sexual abuse by rescuing two sisters from school because it could not reach them at home. The mother sought the society’s assistance in rescuing her 17-year-old daughter from the father who physically abused her. The girl was also molested by a relative of the father, according to Al-Madinah newspaper.
The younger daughter, a 14-year-old, was also abused and has attempted suicide several times, claimed the mother. She could not keep the daughters with her because she does not have a place of her own and is staying with her sister and brother-in-law. The NSHR is in the process of collecting information on this case to present it to court.
Al-Angari told Arab News that the family committee is conducting a comprehensive study on abuse with all its manifestations in Saudi society. “We want to present solutions and procedures that guarantee the rights of the abused. We are approaching the topic from two angles, prevention and remedy,” she said.
The society’s role is as consultants, and to monitor and follow up, explained Al-Angari, they do not have executive power.
The committee is collecting information on all abuse cases and compiling a database for the study which will take some time. “It is not clear how prevalent abuse is but the fact that it exists in our society is a problem and needs to be addressed,” she said.
The problem with sexual abuse cases is in taking swift and forceful action against the abusers as well as passing harsh sentences that match the enormity of the crime. A case in point is the one reported last week by Al-Watan newspaper.
A father sexually and physically abused his then three-year-old daughter who is now five years old and suffering from mental retardation and in a coma. The mother, who is a teacher in Makkah, said that her husband was abusive, and was addicted to alcohol and drugs.
“He sexually attacked his daughter and inflicted burns on her body and beat her severely causing her brain damage. He was sentenced to 30 months in jail and 350 lashes. He has been in jail for four months now,” she said. She discovered the sexual abuse when her daughter complained of pain when going to the bathroom and confessed to her what the father did when he kidnapped her and took her to Riyadh after the mother filed a police complaint against him for abusing the daughter.
