The Experts Symposium on Domestic Violence held in Riyadh on Wednesday emphasized on criminalizing domestic violence of all kinds. The symposium also called for accelerating the process of devising a law that would curb domestic violence and punish perpetrators. It also called on authorities to respond to calls without reservations, and issue a personal affairs code that would be derived from Shariah. These were among 22 recommendations the gathered experts drew up at the end of the two-day symposium in which a number of officials had participated. The Symposium's proceeding included two discussion sessions and one that included recommendations. The first of the two discussions was titled “Domestic Violence and Social, Governmental Institutions and Charitable Societies.” In it, experts discussed social affairs services initiated to be provided to domestic violence victims, social obstacles of family protection in the Kingdom and the role of the Community. The second session, titled “Domestic Violence Cases in the Media,” discussed domestic violence and the Saudi press, domestic violence on TV and in Radio programs and domestic violence and TV drama and its negatives. In the third session, the experts' recommendations included recognizing domestic violence practices as an issue that needs urgent attention and intervention in the Kingdom. They also emphasized applying Islamic principles regarding families and eliminating social factors encouraging or calling for accepting domestic violence as a normal practice. In addition, the recommendations called on the Presidency of Ifta'a to clarify Shariah rulings on the issue and to clarify the concept of guardianship in Islam. Criminalizing all types of domestic violence and applying strict penalties on perpetrators, in addition to activating family courts, training and qualifying officials and officers who should deal with cases of domestic violence and allocating enough proportion of the budget for eliminating the phenomenon and uprooting it through tackling its social factors like poverty, unemployment and ignorance, were also included in the recommendations. The recommendations touched on the educational aspects, as they included calling for a comprehensive, national educational plan to educate individuals about the rights of family members and enhance the victims' ability to protect themselves. Family rights in school curriculums were also recommended. At the end, it was decided to have the symposuium held on an annual basis by the National Program for Domestic Security, to follow up with the application of its recommendations and to discuss achievements and obstacles. In addition, the annual date for the symposium beginning be named as a permanent day for domestic violence protection and combat.
