Have We Done Enough?

Monday, 08 May 2006

By Sabria S. Jawhar
The Saudi Gazette
EVERY morning the Saudi media surprise us with horrifying stories of child abuse. Yet the authorities concerned are either reluctant to take action or too indifferent to the sufferings of the innocent.
Despite the growing number of child abuse cases, we still find officials trying to convince the public that these are individual incidents. When will these officials admit that child abuse has reached an alarming level?
It is time for us to admit that we are not a heavenly society. We have our own weaknesses like any other society in the world where sins and violations are committed. It is not a shame to talk about these shortcomings. The shame is to hide and act with arrogance
It is true that we are a Muslim society that is based on the Islamic regulations that highly value human rights. But how many of us, as individuals, are practicing Islam the way it was at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him)?
It is also true that Islam is a religion for each place and time. But we have to admit that there are certain issues in Islam that have been left open for people’s judgment in a way that goes along with the changes and requirements of time. Yet our religious authority is still reluctant with regard to this.
How many imams have talked about child abuse in their Friday sermons? There is no doubt that child abuse is a worldwide problem.
But, unlike the rest of the world, Saudis don’t like to talk about the problem and so too often ignore it. In the United States, for instance, the problem receives attention from authorities and organizations for children’s rights.
The problem in Saudi Arabia is real, horrifying and hushed up. What makes the situation worse, however, is the lack of reliable statistics due to social and legal considerations, among them is the fear of being harassed by the authorities or families concerned.
Only a few schools in Saudi Arabia have specialist social workers who can identify the cases of physical abuse among students. Even those, who find out suspected cases of abuse by chance, are reluctant to report them because they have to go through bureaucratic procedures that make the matter more complicated and delay corrective measures.
Children are not taught at school their right to be protected. Most of the victims keep silent thinking that there is nothing to be done about it or that their families have the right to torture them. It is unrealistic to think that it is possible to completely stop such violations in any society. But at least let’s take the legal steps to minimize it or not to make children a subject of abuse under the cover of law.
Children have the right to be heard in all matters relating to them, directly or through a representative especially in judicial proceedings. Their views have to be weighed and taken into consideration in accordance with their age and maturity, as Islam stated.
Judges should not blindly favor the father over the mother in cases of custody just because of social consideration even when it is proved that he is not qualified. The situation in the courtroom should be seriously reviewed and the law should be codified to prevent more cases of abuse that might lead to a child’s death, as we have witnessed in some of the reported cases. Hot lines should be established and publicized at schools so that the children know whom to contact in such cases.
The police should be given the authority to interfere and bring the abused child under government protection. Parents should realize that they would be held accountable in case of such abuse.
Adequate procedures and mechanism should be established to receive complaints. Measures should be taken to ensure that the abused child is not victimized in legal proceedings.
Finally, I believe that with those repeated cases of abuse we should reconsider the regulations governing the establishment of non-governmental organizations (NGO).
NGOs have always been the backbone of a civilized society as it gets all sections of the society involved in the protection process and enhances the concept of shared responsibility.