The Ministry of Education has voiced its support for the protection of children against any forms of violence or abuse and has given its full support to the free Child Support Line (CSL) at the number 116111, which seeks to manage complaints of abuse against children.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Girls Dr. Haya Awwad said that the ministry is a key partner in the child protection project and is ready to preserve rights of children and to provide all support and assistance to this end.

For her part, Tahani Al-Mijhid, the head of Child Support Line (CSL), said that the free line receives all complaints related to children under the age of eighteen and offers online guidance and referrals to the concerned authorities.

The Ministry and the CSL have jointly launched an awareness campaign regarding the importance of CSL in government and private schools, she added.

There was enormous interaction with the CSL when the number of calls increased from 11,962 in 2013 to 40,264 calls in 2014 — an increase of 236.5 percent. The calls varied between spontaneous advisory calls, complaints and referrals, she said.

Experts say that child abuse cases in the Kingdom have grown steadily which warrant a national campaign to avoid such incidents.