[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Upsurge in child abuse videos online angers Saudis" ids="113839,113838,113841,113840"] By Shahd Alhamdan Saudis have been outraged over an upsurge of video clips on social media that show people abusing their children physically since the start of this year. Many Saudis believe that the increase of child abuse in the Kingdom is related to parents' lack of education and a communication gap in marriage relationships. They also attribute the surge to a lack of awareness about the child abuse regulations, unhappy marriages and drug abuse. Police in Tabuk on Monday arrested a man for torturing his son. The video of the child being abused went viral on social media showing the back of the child with marks of whipping. The child sustained severe injuries from the flogging. The incident comes on the heels of the case of Dareen, an infant who was abused by her father in Makkah. The father strangled and slapped his daughter and sent the abuse video to her mother. The mother published the video on social media seeking help from the authorities. Doaa Shukrallah, a Saudi woman in her 30s, explained that there is a lack of education in terms of spouses' communication, especially during the divorce process. She added that most couples are not aware that when they get a divorce they should maintain a healthy relationship for the sake of their children. The children must not be made to suffer in any way in the event of a divorce, she said. "I think this lack of awareness is one of the main reasons behind most child abuse cases in the Kingdom. As for the case of the man who abused his young daughter in Makkah, I do not think that it is a normal case because no one in his right mind would do this to a child. I think he has a psychological issue. Maybe his parents might have abused him when he was a child or probably he lived through unstable psychological life," she said. Shukrallah mentioned that not having strong religion or not being afraid of punishments or the law would make a person bold to abuse a child without any fear. May Ahmed, a Saudi woman working in the private sector, said, "Because there are not any clear rules and regulations for parenting, child abuse has become common. Even if there are rules, not all parents are aware of them and the penalties involved. Some parents believe that hitting and other forms of psychical punishment is a way of disciplining their children since in the past this was the norm." Shahd Zeyad, a female in her 20s, said another reason for the increase of child abuse is wrongful marriage. "What I mean by wrongful marriage is a couple who are married at a very young age. Such couples cannot be expected to become responsible," she added. She said nowadays drug abuse has become a major issue that influences people's actions negatively. In a Twitter post, one person said a child is being abused almost every day. The tweeter asked how long have we to endure this cruelty and called for suppressing this group of abusers using all means.
