In speaking cases of child abuse, we must note the article in Al-Hayat newspaper about a father using electricity to torture his children. Al-Riyadh newspaper reported that a one-year-old child was murdered by a servant. Yet another case was of a father beating his child to death, and in a most horrible one, children watched their father commit suicide after having killed their mother.
These horrible tragedies represent an unbelievable lack of responsibility by parents and families. Who is responsible for the actions of parents when they leave the country and leave their children at home with uncaring servants? Who is responsible for not treating a psychologically sick man until he murders his entire family? Children are the victims and they are in great danger.
How can they succeed in the future when all they have ever witnessed is blood and murder? Logic necessitates that psychological aid is a must in these cases. These unstable people threaten themselves, their families and their society if left without regular institutional treatment. And tranquilizers are not always the appropriate solution to prevent disturbed parents from abusing their children.
Looking after our children’s safety begins by studying abuse cases and implementing certain procedures that will protect the children. After all, children are the families’ foremost responsibility. If parents fail to provide their children with a healthy and secure upbringing, then the responsibility shifts to the government. More delay in finding a cure to this problem will only cause more damage that the present reality cannot bear.
We must blame the parents when a servant murders their child, regardless of their justifications and excuses. We have to blame the psychologist and the psychiatrist for the father who committed suicide after murdering his wife but who never received any treatment.
Families’ negligence and ignorance will always lead to undesirable consequences. A little girl is now disabled. Her mother left her with a servant and went to visit friends. Her father was away in the desert, on a camping trip with his friends. The servant grew angry at the little girl, dropped her on the floor and left her there. I do not think this is a matter for the human rights organization. I think there should be a government law, rigorously applied and implemented, to protect our children from such situations.
