JEDDAH — More than two million people have benefited from the family support services being rendered by the Social Enlightenment and Rehabilitation Society (Waei) to the members of the Saudi society. The society's website revealed that the number of men who have benefited from its services stood at 12,034,543 in addition to 9,852,692 women beneficiaries. There are 14,435 volunteers working with Waei, which has conducted a total of 4892 programs while the volume of its activities on social media networks reached 29,472,132. Dr. Hamid Al-Shayji, vice chairman of the Board of Directors of Waei, said that the society works to educate family members about good treatment and peaceful coexistence, as well as to spread the art of family management in society. It also provides courses for parents on the right ways to treat family problems and raise children, in addition to conducting awareness and rehabilitation programs and courses directed to all segments of society. This is in an effort to achieve Waei's vision and mission, which is "Towards a society whose individuals and institutions are characterized by social awareness and civilized behavior." Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Al-Shayji refuted as baseless social media posts with regard to domestic violence complaints associated with the society. He was reacting to some posts being circulated on social media platforms about complaints of husbands who are allegedly victims of harassment by wives. It was mentioned in these posts that any husband can seek the assistance of the Waei to discuss his problem in the event that he has been beaten or bullied by his wife. "The social media posts that were circulated several years ago regarding the society's entertaining of men's complaints about wives' violence were nothing to do with reality. He explained that holder of one of the electronic media accounts prepared the post and published it to gain views and followers. When Waei learned about it, the society contacted the person and asked him to remove the post. However, the post is being circulated as some people continue to republish it," he pointed out. The strangest thing is that some men called Waei's family counseling phone to complain about their wives' harassment, which indicates the existence of cases of domestic violence practiced by wives against husbands. "Dr. Maha Al-Munif, former director of Waei's Family Safety Program, had indicated in her study that about five percent of couples in Saudi Arabia are exposed to domestic violence, and this percentage rises to 30 percent in the United States of America," he said. Al-Shayji said that the mission of the Waei is to develop awareness and civilized behavior among the individual, family and society, activate the energies of individuals and institutions, instill a culture of volunteer institutional work, offer courses, titled Family Leadership License Project, to those who are about to get married, and benefit from local and international studies and experiences.
