Samar Al-Haysooni
With the images that were posted on social media recently, showing a teacher attacking a student, this is a good opportunity to talk about child abuse. All forms of violence, whether physical, verbal, psychological or sexual, should be completely and categorically rejected. Any form of violence can have an immense influence on a child’s well-being and behavior in the future.
I would like to focus here on physical violence. We have to realize one fact: we can raise and discipline our children without having to beat them. We cannot solve a problem by beating a child. Actually, beating can bring undesired results and lead children to copy this bad behavior. They will use beatings in the future in an attempt to discipline their own children.
Today, parents are busier than ever and do not spend as much time with their children as they should. We need to sit with our children and ask them about what is going on in their lives, and why they feel scared or insecure. A child can be subjected to physical violence outside the home without parents knowing about it. His fear might stop him from telling his parents.
This fear can have a negative impact on a child’s personality and can lead to a child growing up to be an introvert. He may develop psychological problems and lose his self-confidence. The laws in the Kingdom protect human beings against all forms of violence. If someone assaults a child sexually, he will be punished according to Shariah and the punishment can sometimes be the death sentence.
We have national campaigns and projects that protect children’s rights, such as the child support line which is a toll-free service that can be used to bring the attention of the authorities to any form of violence against any child under the age of 18.
