Parents' violence against their children is often traced to ignorance and departure from the religious teachings. Sometimes it could be caused by the parents' addiction to drugs or some psychological disorder. And because this crime is classified as heinous, penalties that judges issue to the offending parents or step-parents are determined by the degree of physical and psychological damage the children suffer, Abdul Rahman Muhammad Al-Dakhil, acting chief of the General Court in Taif, said. The penalty could be capital punishment if the damage caused to the children is very severe. Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Khudari, a judge at the General Court in Taif, said the sentences are meant to deter parents from abusing their children and other purposes. “Penalties in Islam decreed by Almighty Allah seek to discipline people, preserve their rights and deter them from doing injustice to others,” he said. “These penalties are strong enough to deter wrongdoers because they are decreed by the Creator.” Violence committed by parents and stepparents in disciplining their children is classified among heinous crimes when it exceeds the limits because the children are innocent, weak and helpless, Al-Khudari said. Capital punishment is defined by Islam for those who torture their children to death, he added. The prevalence of this kind of crime is traced to ignorance, aside from psychological disorder and drug addiction, Al-Khudari said. He said mothers sometimes severely beat their children in the presence of the fathers, who turn a blind eye to avoid the ire of their spouses and stay away from trouble. Some men mistakenly consider this kind of punishment as a way to discipline the childen, not realizing the kids' rights in the family. Fawaz Al-Thamali, another judge, said some stepmothers also become mean to the kids to get rid of them because they lack the “moral and religious deterrence”. In some cases, violence happens when a wife or stepmother feels an obsessive jealousy that someone shares her husband's love, he added. Fawaz said at times men join stepmothers in torturing the children because of their strong emotional attachment to them. __
