Saudi- Tough law needed to fight crime against women kids

(MENAFN- Arab News) Two prominent women social workers have attributed the increased incidence of violence against women and children to a number of factors including the absence of a deterrent law.
They said other reasons include non-clarity of penalties related to these crimes ignoring psychologists' guidance on child harassment cases depending only on physical tests and insufficiency of services provided to abused and tortured women in the Kingdom.
Dr. Fatima Al-Aqeel the Jeddah-based head of the Family Protection Society expressed concern over the delay in the establishment of an independent administration for the protection of women and children in Saudi Arabia.
The number of cases of detected violence do not express the real number of actual cases notably harassment cases of children she told local media.
Amani Al-Ajlan another social expert said the system to protect against abuse which was decreed last year compels judges to assign tortured or sexually assaulted children to protection teams if suspicion arises.
She said there are 40 protection teams accross the Kingdom which are composed of doctors social and psychological workers legal advisers and security men.
Each team is supposed to prepare a report on a possible torture or violence case against children after a thorough and exhausted assessment she said.