To tackle the increase in cases of sexual harassment among children in Jeddah schools, a private institution has launched a campaign to teach children how to protect themselves. Sana Al-Hawaili, a psychologist and Director of the Multi-Talented Center, said she decided to launch the campaign after the center received reports of an increase in such cases, especially among pupils in elementary schools. She has produced a training kit with the Ministry of Education to inform children at all school levels about this threat to their safety. The campaign will also be registered at the Ministry of Culture and Information in preparation for the production of a series of animated films in Arabic. Al-Hawaili said the rising number of sexual harassment cases are a result of parents neglecting their children and not taking their complaints seriously. She said she is also thinking of a campaign to educate mothers on how to deal with children who have been harassed. Al-Hawaili said children are often reluctant to speak about abuse because their parents have told them it is shameful to talk about sexual subjects. “By doing so they forget that their children will discover the facts for themselves. This could lead to serious mental and psychological complications,” she said. She also warned parents against leaving their children alone with older children during family gatherings. These situations can lead to the abuse of the younger children. She said there are two forms of abuse — physical and verbal harassment. Both cases are detrimental to the growth of children, she said. A study conducted in 2009 found that about 70 percent of children in the Kingdom suffer rape and sexual harassment at the hands of relatives and 30 percent from domestic helpers and strangers. __
