Violence against children is the biggest challenge facing early-childhood development, which is the way toward comprehensive sustainable development in the Muslim world, according to the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported a recent study by the National Family Safety Program, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, indicating that violence against children has become a “social phenomenon.” It said official reports show that 78.5 percent of the Kingdom's children face violence or negligence and that the real figures are much higher. The National Society for Human Rights has stated that from 2004, when it was established, to 2010, it received 1,923 cases of violence against children, so questions arise about the overall number of cases. Dr. Abdullah Al-Sabi, Chairman of the Scientific Committee in the Gulf Society for Disability, said that there are no statistics in the Kingdom about violence against infants, an observation that was confirmed by Dr. Ghada Bint Abdul Rahman Al-Turaif, assistant professor of Criminal Sociology at Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University. She attributed the difficulty in getting statistics about this phenomenon to the conservative nature of Saudi society. She said age of children plays a role and that the highest rate of violence occurs against children under three and decreases among older children. Kidnapping of infants Saudi society has witnessed several kidnappings of newborn babies, which is a form of serious violence against them, despite the fact that kidnapping in general has been criminally classified as being of first-degree importance, according to a statement by Second Lt. Nawaf Al-Bouq, acting spokesman of Jeddah Police. Painful stories of kidnapping infants from hospitals just hours after birth, although few, still circulate in society. The kidnappings are usually done by housemaids or other expatriate women in order to adopt them, to get revenge against their parents or even to sell the infants or their organs. Among these incidents was the kidnapping of an eight-month-old baby by an Asian housemaid in Jeddah and the kidnapping of a one-day-old boy, Anas, from the hospital bed next to his mother at the Maternity Hospital in Madina. Creating awareness in the society Authorities are providing guidance to members of society and creating awareness among them so that they will not rely on expatriate workers to watch and care for their children. There are more than 1.5 million housemaids working in homes, according to Ayidh Al-Qarni, a social researcher specializing in family affairs. She said there is a need to subject recruited workers to psychological check-ups as part of medical check-ups they undergo to determine their eligibility for work in the Kingdom. To curb the stealing of newborn babies from hospitals, the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Madina has resorted to placing electronic wristbands on newborn babies, according to Abdullah Al-Taifi, director general of Health Affairs in Madina. Flagrant crimes In bloody scenes of violence against newborn babies registered in the Kingdom, one example is that of a newborn found dead in a garbage dumpster in Hail. Other examples include a housemaid who admitted killing a four-month-old baby by putting rat poison in his feeding bottle, discovery of live newborns in garbage dumpsters or in front of a mosque. A newborn baby with African features was found several days ago in a garbage dumpster in Madina. This violence against infants is taking place in a mixed society of Saudi nationals and expatriates, along with Umrah and Haj pilgrims. It could be the result of psychiatric or neurological diseases affecting mothers, a lack of religious deterrent or moral values, drug abuse or poverty, all of which can result in babies of unknown parentage. Salim Al-Ghamdi, director of the Prince Sultan Center for Social Education in Dammam, said that on an annual basis, it receives eight cases of unknown parentage. Dr. Ahmad Al-Hussaini, who has researched the issue, said that according to official statistics, there are 8,500 children of unknown parentage living in the Kingdom's social-care homes. Services lacking and health passport project The current situation indicates that there are shortcomings in health services provided to newborn babies and their mothers, which creates another aspect of violence. In a new initiative, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah, Minister of Health, announced a few days ago that the ministry would start implementing a health-passport project for mothers and children in government hospitals in Riyadh, which will decrease fatalities among mothers and infants, and protect mothers during pregnancy and delivery. Congenital deformities Dr. Shareefa Al-Qasim, a member of the teaching staff in the Education and Kindergartens Department at King Saud University, stated that 19 percent of victims of medical errors in the Kingdom's hospitals are children. The majority of these cases result in congenital deformities, along with physical and mental disabilities. She added that statistics indicate that there have been 26,000 medical errors in the last six years and that the majority of the victims are women giving birth, who account for 27 percent of the cases. Surgeries for adults and children total 21 percent and treatment of children comes third with 19 percent. She called on the Ministry of Health to enact deterrent laws, to intensify supervision of obstetrics and pediatrics departments in hospitals, and to revise conditions for admission in colleges and faculties of medicine. Food and drug laws Even in the field of feeding newborn babies, there is what can be considered violence when the infants are deprived of their rights to breastfeeding, which boosts the artificial-feeding market amid a lack of adequate commercial laws, according to an expert. In an earlier statement, Dr. Khalid Al-Muflih, Supervisor of the Neonatal Research Seat at King Saud University, called attention to the fact that while the Kingdom's population, including citizens and expatriates, has reached 28 million, less than 10 percent of the US population, the Kingdom has more than 30 brands of milk powder while the USA has four. He called on the Saudi Food and Drug Authority to deal with artificial milk according to its drug laws, not food laws, because drug laws are stronger. Violence against children n 78.5 percent of the Kingdom's children face violence or negligence n The National Society for Human Rights says that from 2004, when it was established, to 2010, it received 1,923 cases of violence against children n The highest rate of violence occurs against children under three, according to Dr. Abdullah Al-Sabi, Chairman of the Scientific Committee in the Gulf Society for Disability n Official statistics show that there are 8,500 children of unknown parentage living in the Kingdom's social-care homes, according to Dr. Ahmad Al-Hussaini, who has researched the issue __
