The number of child abuse cases orchestrated by parents or those who care for them has reached 181 cases in a two-year period, according to the Head of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR).

The cases ranged between physical harm such as beating and torture, to verbal violence, NSHR chief Dr. Muflih Al-Qahtani told Al-Watan daily.

He said that the NSHR has recently read the child protection bylaw which was prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs in cooperation with the concerned parties which, he said, will enable all parties to protect children from all forms of violence that they may face within their family surroundings.

Al-Qahtani added that cases ending in death as a result of torture are referred to the security authorities, while the victim's siblings are sent to protection centers affiliated to the Ministry of Social Affairs to ensure their safety.

Al-Qahtani pointed out that the number of violence cases against children being received by the NSHR offices vary from one year to another. Statistics issued by the NSHR did not exclusively cover violence cases because some of them are not documented as they occur in early stages of life.

Al-Qahtani attributed violence cases against children to a variety of reasons including economic or psychological factors which are negatively affecting parents and, accordingly, causing them to become more aggressive toward their children.

In an earlier report, the Kingdom’s health facilities recorded 212 cases of domestic violence in 2013, involving 172 children.

According to data released by the Family Safety Program (FSP), 86 percent of tortured children were Saudis.