A 40-year-old father, who appeared in a video clip verbally abusing his little girl, has been arrested, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development has announced. The official spokesman of the Ministry, Khalid Aba Al-Khail, said they had traced the girl and provided her with physical and psychological counseling. The abusive father was handed over to the competent authorities. The video clip, which was circulated in the social media Saturday, showed a grown-up man cursing and scolding a helpless little girl. The distressing scene led to many people calling for the protection of the victim. Aba Al-Khail called on all who those come across cases of domestic violence to report them to ‘1919', a dedicated telephone number allocated for such cases. The Saudi law carries harsh punishments against those who indulge in domestic abuse, and violence against wives and children in the home is seen as a major crime in the Kingdom. In 2008, the Saudi government ordered the deployment of social protection units in major cities to provide shelter and protection to abused women and children. In 2013, the government approved a new law incriminating perpetrators of domestic violence. The law calls for a punishment of up to one year in prison and up to SR 50,000 in fine for offenders.
