Dr. Enaam Hassan Raboei: “I still have more that I want to achieve” AS Chief of Pediatric Surgery at King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, Dr. Enaam Hassan Raboei has since the 1980s used her medical training to fight violence against children in Saudi society. “At the beginning of my career as a young pediatric surgeon, I used to receive0 cases of children who were experiencing pain for which there could be no organic medical explanation. In those days there was no Internet to help us, so I ordered research papers, journals and books from abroad to help me understand what these children could be suffering from,” said Dr. Raboei, who specialized in pediatric surgery in Paris. She is a fellow of the French College of Pediatric Surgeons and is a member of a number of Saudi and international pediatric surgery associations. “After researching the issue, I discovered that a number of these children were suffering from sexual or physical abuse, such as baby “shaking syndrome”, which can be the result of direct blows to the head by dropping, throwing or shaking a child. Head trauma is the leading cause of death in such child abuse cases.” “It was not easy at that time for Saudi society and even medical professionals to accept that mothers or fathers could be capable of hurting their children in such a way. However, I was sure of the cases I had checked, so I discussed the issue with the hospital administration, and they agreed to establish a special section for child abuse cases,” Dr. Raboei explained. In 2005, before media campaigns against child abuse started in the Kingdom, Dr. Raboei established a volunteer group, gathering people from different fields, such as lawyers, doctors and sociologists. “After our group was organized, we made a presentation to Prince Abdulmajeed Bin Abdul Aziz, the late Emir of Makkah region. We used pictures and case studies to describe to him incidents of violence against children in the Kingdom. As a result of our presentation, Prince Abdulmajeed ordered the establishment of the Family Protection Foundation with offices in different parts of the region. In 2007, I was appointed the head of the foundation.” The foundation focuses on children's and women's rights in society, and “we provide shelter to women who run away from their homes as a result of abuse,” she explained. “We provide medical and psychological services similar to foundations that we have visited in Canada, England and several other countries.” Recently Dr. Raboei has been involved in establishing a new organization called the “Hanoon Club” that provides services to around 1,000 children by teaching them about their rights and responsibilities as well as how to differentiate between people and especially to recognize those who may intend to do them harm. “We created a character called “Hanoon”, which means “affectionate”, who symbolizes care and affection and teaches children the meaning of love,” she said. “I created the character myself and we are planning to create a cartoon series using “Hanoon” to provide children with the positive images that they should have in their lives.” Dr. Raboei is married with three children and three grandchildren. “My family has helped me a lot in my career and, indeed, they are still helping me. I cannot say that I have reached all the goals that I have set for myself in life. I still have more that I want to achieve, especially regarding getting out the message about child abuse.
