Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Ministry of Health last Sunday summoned officials of a medical complex for cosmetic surgery in Riyadh over a promotional video in which a young girl appeared. The video was published on social media.

Meanwhile, a cosmetic surgeon and the parents of the child, who appeared in the video, were referred to the Ministry of Labor and Social Development for action. They will be held accountable under the Kingdom's child protection regulations, Al-Hayat newspaper reported.

Recent cases of violence against children have outraged Saudi society. Almost on a daily basis videos and photos of abuse have surfaced through social networking sites, some of which have succeeded in reaching officials including the Ministry of Labor and Social Development and some of which made their way to the courts.

Much of the uproar on social media involving Saudis revolved around the growing incidence of child abuse. After every incident documented by an activist phone camera or by school students whose colleagues are ill-treated by teachers and posted on social media, there have been lots of calls for the arrest and prosecution of the aggressors.

Last week, the Public Prosecutor's Offices strongly reacted to a video documenting abuse of a child by forcing him to smoke. The prosecution, through its official account on Twitter, announced that encouraging or allowing children to smoke is a violation of the child protection system.

Despite the outrage, reports of child abuse continue to appear in different shapes and forms. The social protection unit in Tabuk along with security authorities intervened to secure the release of two children who were allegedly tied to a second-story window of their house. The action followed after a witness had photographed the children from outside and posted the clip on social media.

Saudi Arabia has recently published the executive bylaws of is new child protection law, which was approved by the Council of Ministers. The new law conforms to Islamic teachings and international regulations and agreements of which Saudi Arabia is a signatory. The law protects the rights of children and guards them against abuse and neglect.

The law considers a number of actions as abuse or neglect of a child's right. They include causing interruption of his or her education, ill-treatment, harassment, exploitation, hurling abusive words at them, and discrimination against the child on the basis of ethnic, racial, social or economic reasons. The law obliges anyone who sees a case of harm or neglect toward a child to inform competent authorities about it immediately.

The law says a child becomes exposed to dangerous developmental issues through the practice of begging or any illegal act.

The law also states that a child who does not have a suitable family environment and is susceptible to abuse or neglect has the right to alternative care through foster families, or governmental, civil or charitable welfare institutions.

The aim of childcare, through alternative families and social welfare institutions, is to provide social, psychological, health and professional care for children whose conditions have prevented them from growing up within their biological parents. The foster families and care homes will raise them properly, compensating them for their loss of compassion from parents and relatives.