RIYADH — The National Family Safety Program (NFSP) will set up a hotline to receive complaints about child abuse within two months, according to its top official. Dr. Maha Al-Muneef, executive director, said the 24-hour hotline will be supervised by specialists. She said: “The specialists will receive complaints from children and others. “There will be field contact officials who are entrusted to extend services to children at all places across the Kingdom.” There are a total of 41 child protection centers that work in coordination with the health sector. These centers are supervised jointly by the NFSP and the Health Services Council. Al-Muneef said the Child Protection Law, approved in principle by the Council of Ministers, will greatly improve the rights of children and protect them better. The law, which has 30 articles, will further strengthen programs for protection of children. “The NFSP focuses on three areas — prevention, building capabilities and awareness. “If we succeed, this will promote the protection of children at a higher level.” According to Al-Muneef, the NFSP in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs is conducting training programs for its specialists to enable them to handle child abuse cases in an effective way. The NFSP was created to build awareness and a safe community that protects and defends individuals' rights and helps victims of domestic violence. The goal of this unique program is to establish a safe, collaborative, and cooperative environment that protects individuals against domestic violence, especially women, children, the elderly and people with special needs.
