Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — Many specialists have said schools have an important role to play in discovering violence against children. The problem of domestic violence has recently witnessed an increase and one of the most shocking cases involved a Najran father who killed his wife and six children. Such cases raise the question of the role of student counselors in schools in discovering incidents of abuse against students. Violence cases can be discovered in the early stages if public schools and human rights bodies cooperate in identifying such cases and find appropriate solutions, said the specialists. Al-Riyadh newspaper visited a number of public schools and human rights bodies to investigate their role in such cases. These visits have uncovered a lack of understanding of the role of counselors. Many believed their role was to provide medicines to students who may complain of pain and discuss the inappropriate behavior of students. Sarah Al-Suwailem, principal of a girls school, said there is a great misunderstanding of the counselor's role. She tried to have all teachers and administrators act as counselors, which has had a positive result. Teachers began notifying the counselor of any irregular behavior of a student and the counselor would then discuss this with the concerned student. Al-Suwailem said some cases required the adviser to coordinate with the student's family and discuss possible solutions to the problem. In case the family does not cooperate, or if the adviser suspects the family is the cause of the problem, the case is then referred to the local education department, which in turn refers it to concerned bodies. Al-Suwailem pointed out that she had dedicated administrators in her school to inspect students and if they noticed any bruises or signs of abuse, they would notify the adviser to deal with the case. "Some students are reluctant to admit abuse against them because of fear or mistrust," she said. She believes that this necessitates the enforcement of a human rights culture by specialists. A circular from the Ministry of Education has pointed out the steps to be taken in cases of violence against students. Haifa Al-Amri, a student counselor at a public school, said the inefficiency of the advisers is due to their low numbers. She pointed out that a counselor cannot deal with more than 300 students alone. Al-Amri said the principal of her school has set up a committee of teachers to assist her in her duties. A number of students also discussed their relationship and their trust in counselors. Sundos Al-Harbi said she did not know whether the counselors were responsible for discovering violence against students. She added that she had possibly been abused, but she kept quiet because she did not know whether these acts would be considered violent or not. She stressed that students should be educated on the types of abuse and violence and the required procedures for reporting such cases. Seham Al-Hefzi concurred. She said her stepmother was an abusive woman and asked her to do all the house chores when she returned from school. This did not allow her enough time to study and do her homework, and if she complained her stepmother would call her names and beat her. She claimed her father believed that this was for her good and that his wife was preparing her to be a good housewife in the future. Her student adviser found out the abuse when she talked to her about her problems at home after a teacher asked her to leave the classroom once. She claimed that the counselor's reaction was negative and she told her that she should not tell people her family secrets and that no one would love her more than her mother and father. Sawsan Al-Ammari said her father was continuously ridiculing her and calling her stupid because she was failing at school. This destroyed her morale and she isolated herself from others. She discussed the problem with the student counselor, who called her father and mother and discussed the problem with them. After that call, her father showed more support for her and she excelled in her studies, she said. Spokesman for the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Dr. Ibrahim Al-Shaddi said the scope of the student counselor's role is greater than the tasks they actually perform. They lack the required training and perception of their real role, and some practice that role without having the necessary specialization in the field, he said. Such roles, he added, require great support and financial resources because the counselors play an important and positive role in students' lives. He said the number of student counselors should be increased and social committees should be set up in schools to assist the advisers in their roles. In addition, he noted the number of advisers should be proportionate to the number of students. He called on the Ministry of Education to properly train counselors and enforce coordination with the HRC. He confirmed a plan to conduct workshops for educating teachers and hoped these workshops would also include parents. "Student counselors should report any abuse cases to the HRC on its hotline number 116111," he said. He noted Islamic teachings stress the prevention of violence and that dealing with it is the responsibility of everyone. According to Dr. Maha Al-Menaif, executive director of the National Program for Family Safety, schools' role in dealing with violence is very negligible. She pointed out that most violence cases are discovered at a late stage after they become difficult to deal with. "Student counselors and teachers should be educated on the physical and behavioral signs of violence and the need to gain students' trust so they may report violence cases," she said. She stressed the law for abuse protection forces everyone to report cases of abuse and violence. The law also calls for punishing those who do not report such cases. She believed abuse reports should be made in the name of the school and not the counselor. "Counselors' names should not be included in the documents submitted to security bodies, as this will cause them to be worried and they may be discouraged from reporting violence cases," she said.
