[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Media Focus on Violence Against Women, Children

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**http://www.arabnews.com/?page=22&section=0&article=75457&d=30&m=12&y=2005

Friday, 30, December, 2005 (29, Dhul Qa`dah, 1426)


      Media Focus on Violence Against Women, Children
      Lulwa Shalhoub 

     
      Readers of newspapers noticed the growing number of stories this year 
about family violence directed at women and children. Most of these cases get 
transferred to the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), which was formed 
in March 2004 to receive and investigate abuse complaints. Physical, sexual, 
financial and psychological abuse against women and children are handled by the 
NSHR's Family Committee.

      The NSHR met in January with the president of the high court in Makkah to 
discuss laws and regulations regarding sexual abuse within the family. The 
meeting was spurred in part by a sexual abuse lawsuit filed that month on 
behalf of two teenage girls against their father. The girls sought the death 
penalty, saying that he ruined their lives.

      The father was sentenced to 10 years in jail, but the sentence was later 
reduced to five years. "If we can't have a death sentence for such a crime then 
we should at least pass a life sentence," said NSHR Family Committee Chairwoman 
Jowhara Al-Angary.

      In March, Indonesian housemaid Nour Miyati was taken to a Riyadh hospital 
by her sponsor showing clear signs of abuse, including injuries to her eyes and 
teeth. Some of her fingers and toes had to be amputated due to gangrene, a sign 
that injuries had gone untreated. Initially, Miyati accused her sponsor of the 
abuse, claiming that he beat her and tied her up in the bathroom for a month.

      Miyati later retracted her accusations against her sponsor and was 
subsequently jailed for making false accusations. Two days later, Riyadh 
Governor Prince Salman ordered the maid's release. She was taken under the 
protection of the Al-Nahda Women's Charity Society in August. She was later 
releasing to the care of her lawyer, Nasser Al-Dandani, who was appointed by 
the Indonesian Embassy. As a diplomatic protest, Indonesia banned the 
recruitment of maids for five months.

      Miyati was sentenced in late December to 79 lashes for the false 
accusations that she made against her sponsor. The sponsor's wife who admitted 
beating her was sentenced to 35 lashes. No sentence will be implemented on the 
sponsor due to the lack of evidence against him. The judge may yet rule in 
favor of monetary compensation to Miyati.

      Emotional abuse is another harmful problem affecting children. According 
to a study by Dr. Ali Al-Zahrani, a psychologist and counselor for children and 
teenagers at Al-Amal Health Compound in Riyadh, 26.6 percent of Saudi children 
are emotionally abused. He also found that, due to parental negligence, 9.4 
percent of Saudi children are not receiving medical treatment when they 
complain of pain or discomfort.

      The research also found that a significant number of children in the 
Kingdom are being denied an education. Dr. Al-Zahrani also said that many 
parents are using excessive force when they use corporeal punishment to 
discipline their children. Citing the study, the doctor called for stricter 
laws against child abuse.

      An Arab News report in May covered a sad case of a father who was 
sentenced to five years in prison for sexually abusing his five daughters. The 
mother went to the authorities after the eldest daughter, 18, had her second 
abortion after being impregnated a second time by her father. During the court 
proceedings, it was discovered that the father was addicted to drugs and 
suspected his wife of infidelity, a suspicion he took out on his children.

      Again, child advocates complained of lenient punishments for such crimes. 
"Five years are not enough for such a crime," said Dr. Wafa Al-Saadi, 
psychologist and sociologist. "That father should be executed."

      Spousal abuse was also a theme of family abuse in 2005. In June, Arab 
News reported the story of D.T., a woman who was married for 25 years and who 
suffered from her husband's maltreatment. She was forbidden to eat with him. If 
she did not follow his rules, he would beat her brutally. He denied her any 
allowances and made her feel that she should be thankful to be fed and living 
in the house.

      Married at 14 years of age, D.T. said for years she thought it was normal 
for a husband to treat his wife in such a deplorable manner. Eventually she 
grew wiser.

      "I packed my things and decided to travel to the city where my parents 
live. He took me to the airport," D.T. told Arab News. "When I got to my 
destination, I found that he hadn't shipped my things and wouldn't allow my 
children to call me. I had to return for the sake of my children."

      Depressed, D.T. tried to commit suicide and afterward went for 
psychological treatment.

      In July, Interior Minister Prince Naif approved the founding of a 
committee to deal with the problem of women and child abuse in the Kingdom. The 
first committee was set up in Jeddah and is run by Al-Bir Charitable Society.

      "As a humanitarian society we have the first-hand experience in dealing 
with mistreated women and children," Saleh Al-Turki from Al-Bir told Arab News.

      In August, Deputy Minister for Labor Affairs Ahmad Mansour Al-Zamil 
warned that employers who fail to defend the rights of their domestic help to 
receive their salaries in time would be banned from recruitment and their 
applications to the ministry will not be processed. He noted that the ministry 
receives complaints from maids who have been sexually harassed, physically 
abused, or not given their salaries.

      Women and child victims of domestic violence received their first shelter 
in the Kingdom in October, constructed and administered by Al-Bir Charitable 
Society. The shelter was approved by Prince Naif last July who recognized the 
need for a refuge from domestic abuse.

      The shelter, which can house up to 150 victims of abuse at a time, is 
working with UNICEF to collect data on domestic violence in Saudi Arabia. 
Social workers are also on staff to provide counseling.

      In November, six-year-old girl Rahaf was admitted to King Faisal Hospital 
in Taif by concerned teachers who had discovered red slashes on her back. 
During the police investigation, allegations of abuse by the girl's stepmother 
emerged. After the father refused to press charges, the NSHR intervened and 
filed its own complaint against the stepmother, claiming public interest in the 
case. The trial is ongoing and Rahaf is currently under the custody of her 
father's uncle.

      Arab News reported in December the case of L.S., an Egyptian-Canadian 
woman and a mother of four girls and a son, who was recently divorced from to a 
Tunisian man. The woman won the custody of all her children after proving that 
the father was abusing the daughters. However, three of the girls remain in his 
custody as he appeals the case. L.S. currently lives with her baby boy and the 
oldest daughter, 14, who ran away from the abusive father. In vengeance against 
the girl, the father withdrew her school records and as a result she is 
currently unable to attend classes.

      The NSHR told Arab News that they have received and investigated 5,000 
cases, 30 percent of which relate to domestic violence. "This is a huge 
percentage," said NSHR Research Director Suhaila Hammad.

      NSHR Family Committee Chairwoman Jowhara Al-Angary has also called for 
the need for family courts in the Kingdom, according to Al-Madinah daily. The 
Ministry of Justice and the NSHR are in the process of working out the details 
of the family court, which would address divorce proceedings, as well as cases 
of domestic violence.

      The problem of domestic abuse is increasingly under the public spotlight. 
This year saw more attention being paid toward these cases, forcing authorities 
to deal with these issues in the area of public interest. Hopefully, next year 
will find a reduction in the number of these cases, for the sake of the family 
and the public at large.

      Here's to a Happy New Year free of domestic violence!
     


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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