JEDDAH — The Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) is considering a complaint from an expatriate father against a number of art production companies for allegedly using his 9-year-old daughter to act in a film about sexual abuse without his consent. Local daily Al-Watan reported on Monday that the man, married to a Saudi woman, had also filed the same complaint to the Ministry of Culture and Information and the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR). Sources close to the family said a relative took the daughter, Farah, to the film production company and forced her to perform some scenes in the movie without getting the father's permission. The movie was aimed at increasing public awareness about sexual abuse. The unidentified father said he was shocked when he saw the promotions of the film featuring his daughter. He said: “I was surprised to see my daughter in the film. “I never gave the production companies my written or verbal consent. I did not even know that she would be used to act in a film about harassment.” The father accused the production companies of human trafficking and said they trained his daughter to act. “They exploited my daughter to act out scenes that were not suitable for her age,” he added. He also alleged that his daughter was forced to take off her clothes. The father said he has presented all evidence against the production companies, which he accused of defaming him. He also accused the companies of causing rifts between him, his children and his wife of 10 years. Omar Al-Kholi, professor of law at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz University and legal consultant of the NSHR, said the case was an act of human trafficking and a gross violation of the rights of the father. He said the punishment for such charges, if proven, includes imprisonment and fines.
