NSHR reports 23% jump in family violence cases

RIYADH – The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) registered 552 family violence cases during the Hijri year 1437. The society said 295 women, 71 men and 186 children faced torture during the year. Compared to 1436 AH, there was a 22.9 percent increase in family violence cases in 1437, the society said in its annual report, which was carried by Al-Watan Arabic daily on Wednesday. The number of registered domestic violence cases in 1436 stood at 449. The NSHR noticed a remarkable increase in violence against children as well as violence by women against husbands and other male relatives. The Riyadh region topped the list with 106 family violence cases followed by Jazan (70), Madinah (58) and Dammam (47). A total of 148 cases reported about men torturing their wives against seven cases of women’s violence against husbands. There were 77 cases of violence against fathers and 20 cases against mothers, the report said. Twenty-six cases of violence were reported against brothers, six against sons, 48 cases against families and 19 against divorced women, while other cases were distributed among other family members. Physical and mental torture topped the list with 269 cases, followed by prevention of marriage (20) and request for asylum (15). There were 14 cases where children were prevented from visiting their mother, 11 drug-related violence, 10 cases involving denial of education, 10 cases of aggression on private property and grabbing of salary, seven cases of sexual harassment and four accusations of adultery. In two incidents, fathers were denied visitation rights. There were two cases of women prevented from taking up employment and there was one case of escape from home. The number of children who were subjected to torture reached 186 – 79 boys and 107 girls, with 64 cases reported in Riyadh, 41 in Madinah, 31 in Makkah, 15 in Najran and the remaining cases from other regions. The report exposed 117 cases of fathers’ torturing their children, 19 cases of mothers torturing children, 16 cases of torture in school, nine by relatives and six by stepmothers.