RIYADH, 18 June 2006 — A study titled “Family Violence in Saudi Arabia” released yesterday by the Ministry of Social Affairs has recommended setting up of a national counseling center for victims of violence and bring offenders to justice for acts of domestic abuse.
While releasing the book on the survey, Awad Al-Radadi, the deputy minister of social affairs for welfare and social development, told newsmen that the study was undertaken at the initiative of Social Affairs Minister Abdul Mohsen Al-Akkas to reduce the growing incidence of family violence in the Kingdom.
“The recommendations of the evaluation are to be implemented soon since the ministry plans to solve this problem which has been steadily growing during the past five years,” Al-Radadi said.
A team of sociologists headed by Abdullah Al-Yusuf carried out the field study at the women’s prisons, 20 social service centers of the Ministry of Social Affairs, safe houses for abused housemaids, government hospitals and psychiatric clinics in the Kingdom.
The assessment concentrated mainly on violence against children, women, disabled and aging people, and domestic aides.
“This has become a social problem and has to be tackled in an acceptable manner without affecting the family life,” he said.
The reasons for violence in the family are attributed to broken homes due to divorces in the family, death of breadwinners, youth taking to drugs and sudden financial problems.
The proposed counseling center that is to function under the Family Counseling Department, which was established recently, will have its own branches throughout the Kingdom. It will have qualified professionals to educate the masses on preventing violence within the family.
The study points out that the cause of family violence is mainly due to misunderstandings between family members. The counseling centers will educate the parents how to treat their children, the sponsors on treatment of their maidservants and husbands’ obligations toward their wives, the report said.
The counseling centers will have a 24-hour hot line for the victims or the informants to report violence immediately. The report recommended that concealing family violence be made a punishable offense in order to encourage people to report the incidence promptly to the nearest center.
The researchers also indicated that physical violence against domestic servants is common in some Saudi homes that cannot afford regular monthly salaries for their maidservants.
They also recommended that imams and religious leaders be informed of this problem and, accordingly, persuade them to preach their congregation as to how violence in the family could be prevented.
“Sermons at the Friday prayers will be an effective media to arrest the growing problem,” the report added.
Nasser S. Al-Oud, Saudi sociologist who acts as a consultant to the ministry, pointed out that a developing society would face several social problems related to family and the community. “There should be healthy relations between husband and wife, parents and children, young and old,” he said.
