A recent study by the Family Safety Program has revealed that 50 percent of court judges have no knowledge of procedures in place to deal with cases of domestic violence. Workers in other fields fared no better, with hospital staff, police and graduates of Shariah colleges all rating low. The study revealed that 96 percent of those questioned in all fields had not received any training, despite 68 percent expressing a wish to receive instruction in how to deal with domestic violence. Significantly, 78 percent of those polled were completely unaware of the existence of procedures to be followed when dealing with domestic violence. 80 percent also did not know who the authorities responsible for the enforcement of the procedures were. The study recommends an integrated system for social protection and the designation of one authority to follow up cases of domestic violence and provide medical health services to victims. Maha Al-Muneef of the Family Safety Program said a previous survey of schools had revealed the difficulty in finding precise statistics for incidents of domestic violence. “However, the survey did reveal that about 21 percent of students in public education suffer from continual physical abuse, and 32 percent are subjected to physical abuse occasionally, said Maha Al-Muneef of the Family Safety Program. “Thirty-eight percent of children in the care of public institutions have suffered child abuse, 27 percent psychological and mental torture, and 14 percent of children have been sexually harassed,” she said. The Ministry of Social Affairs has upped the number of social workers at centers to help with the social and psychological recovery of abused children. 36 accredited centers for child protection have been set up at hospitals around the Kingdom with attendant psychiatrists. Al-Muneef said the number of reported cases of domestic violence in recent years has increased seven-fold. “The Ministry of Social Affairs registered last year 1074 cases of domestic violence. 961 of the victims were women, and 153 were men,” Al-Muneef said. “Fifty-seven percent of women have been victims of domestic violence.” Al-Muneef now wishes to see domestic violence data documented, and a national record kept at King Faisal Specialist Hospital.
