“Those in the age group of 21 to 25 came second among Saudi women who run away from their homes. They constituted 38.5 percent,” the study said.
It also pointed out that 58.7 percent of girls in detention centers are students.
“More than half of the runaway girls (52.3 percent) have obtained intermediate certificates while the rest have won secondary certificates,” said the study conducted by Haia experts Muhammad Al-Saheem, Muhammad Al-Mutawa and Mansour Askar.
The team studied the reasons why girls ran away from their homes and how to deal with them and help them integrate into society. The study focused on the centers for taking care of runaway girls in Riyadh, Dammam, Makkah and Abha.
According to the study, there are 109 girls in Saudi jails and social-care centers. The study covered 33 sociologists, 53 judges, 140 investigators, 91 teachers, 1,193 secondary students, 256 university students, 101 student guides, 81 police officers and 192 Haia officials.
The study highlighted the efforts of the commission to confront the problem and reduce its complications by conducting seminars and lectures and distributing pamphlets.
The study emphasized the need for the presence of Haia officials at supermarkets and other public places to protect girls from falling prey people who exploit them.
“The Haia conducted this study in order to find out the reasons behind the phenomenon of runaway girls and how to solve it with the support of departments concerned,” an official statement said.
