The Social Protection House has received 1,462 protection requests and 303 abuse cases that included women and children since the middle of March 2005, Ibrahim Bin Abdullatif Al-Omair, Social Affairs Director in the Eastern Province, has said. He said a committee comprising members from the health and social affairs ministries recommended the development of services for the disabled. Al-Omair cited the royal order to increase financial aid to the disabled by 100 percent and said it will help families of the disabled to take care of them at home rather than putting them in care centers. He noted that the ministry plans to establish comprehensive rehabilitation centers for the disabled all over the Kingdom according to an annual plan and according to needs and capabilities. He said the ministry has taken several measures to protect members of society who are vulnerable to abuse, specifically women and children under the age of 18. One of these measures is the establishment of 14 protection committees in the Kingdom, including the one in the Eastern Province which has members from the Emir's Office, Police, Commission for Investigation and Prosecution, the ministries of Justice, Education, and Health, and the Anti-Narcotic Department. The committee holds monthly meetings to look into reports and cases submitted by its executive team, which is composed of a group of social and psychiatric specialists from Social Affairs and members from bodies relevant to each case. He said the team's tasks include receiving reports related to abuse, investigating the validity of the reports through interviews and field visits, and generating recommendations submitted to the region's social protection committee. The committee immediately intervenes in abuse cases to protect the victims and offers solutions that involve reconciliation between the parties, or, eventually, sheltering the victims if it is confirmed that there is no one to take care of them, he said. He said the detention and investigation of juveniles at houses of correction are monitored by a social specialist until the case reaches the court. He added that juveniles are guided as soon as they enter the house and are housed with a group of juveniles close to their age who have similar cases. They are all supervised by social specialists and supervisors and are enrolled in the house school and in cultural, social, sports and art programs. There is a law to deal with wrongful behavior, he said.
