SAMAR FATANY VIOLENCE against women and children is on the rise in Saudi Arabia in spite of continued initiatives to put a stop to the threatening phenomenon. During a workshop inaugurated by Princess Adila in Riyadh on May 3, media professionals addressed the challenges of preventing domestic violence and the role of the media as a strategic partner of the National Family Safety Program. They stressed the need for the enforcement of disciplinary measures to protect the victims of continued violence and abuse and for more effective legislation, mandates and policies that can put an end to domestic violence cases in our country. Unfortunately, there are no specific criminal laws addressing violence against women and children. Domestic violence cases can be the subject of a police investigation; however, they are not treated as serious criminal cases and they are not prosecuted in court. Another challenge is the lack of media professionals in the field, such as journalists who have a clear understanding of domestic violence and the nature of the problem. Specialists in the field argue that the role of the media has been ineffective because of inaccurate and sensational reporting that lacks in-depth understanding of the phenomenon. The media has not succeeded in providing awareness and has been unable to offer proper support for victims due to its lack of specialized journalists or writers in the field of domestic violence. Providing specialized training to journalists on issues related to domestic violence could improve the role of the media and raise public awareness to deter violence toward women and children. Journalists at the workshop criticized the absence of reliable national statistics on the incidence of domestic violence and the reluctance of officials to talk to the media. They urged the relevant government agencies to appoint official spokesmen to brief the media on important developments or guidelines that can help the media address the problem.
There is no denying that there have been various initiatives to address the problem. Foremost among them is the National Family Safety Program which was founded by a Royal Decree in November 2005. Headed by Princess Adila, the agency is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect and it offers protection to victims of domestic violence. The King Khaled Charitable Foundation has also played a role in addressing the phenomenon of domestic violence by launching the Protection From Abuse system which prompts reporting, immediate response, rehabilitation and protection against abuse. However, the system which was adopted by the Ministry of Social Affairs suffers from inadequate implementation. The Ministry of Social Affairs - General Directorate for Social Protection runs 17 Protection Committees in various provinces to serve victims of domestic abuse, the Human Rights Commission and the National Society for Human Rights also address violence against women and children, and the Saudi National Health Council has approved a hospital-based child protection teams project. According to a survey conducted by the National Family Safety Program, about 65 percent of domestic violence is perpetrated by husbands. Moreover, 88.5 percent of Saudis surveyed said that women subjected to domestic violence need more protection. However, most of the Kingdom's health and law institutions have no documented and comprehensive procedures to deal with domestic violence. Specialists and concerned citizens continue to call for more legal protection from abuse for women and children in Saudi Arabia.
One major challenge that is still not effectively addressed in Saudi society is the lack of public understanding of the Shariah. Many men who are the main perpetrators of violence against women and children believe that they have every right to resort to violent disciplinary beatings, and that they should not be held accountable for doing so. As long as violent behavior is not criminalized, we will never stop the problem of family violence in Saudi Arabia. There is a dire need to correct the misunderstandings of Shariah in Saudi society. Some extremist religious scholars claim that the Shariah allows light physical violence against wives and children as a disciplinary measure. The definition of what is allowed and what is not remains vague and continues to encourage perpetrators to indulge in physical abuse of family members. The lack of a strong fatwa that forbids any act of violence against women and children by their so-called guardians is the reason behind the prevalence of domestic violence in Saudi society. The media has reported many fatal cases of child abuse and neglect and has highlighted the existence of violent behavior among men in the Saudi family which has remained unchecked for a long time. Saudi women have had enough. They continue to suffer from violence against them due to the lack of legal protection and laws to punish violators, the passive and rigid role of some religious scholars who do not condemn the abusers, the inefficiency of some government agencies, the lack of support from civil society groups, and the ineffective role of the media which seems to be unable to defend those who are abused. When will we see serious measures to address the phenomenon of violence against women that is on the rise in our society? — Samar Fatany is a radio broadcaster and writer. She can be reached at [email protected]
