Dr Salah al-Mannai and Dr Khalid al-Sadi (seated left and far right) and other officials during a panel session moderated by the HMC Hamad International Training Centre director Dr Khalid Abdulnoor Saifeldeen.
By Noimot Olayiwola/Staff Reporter
The Qatar Foundation for Child and Women Protection (QFCWP) has received more than 5,000 cases of abuse involving women and children during 2004-2012, an official from the centre disclosed yesterday.
Also, between 2007 and 2012, the centre received a total of 1,331 cases of women and children abuse from the Hamad Medical Corporation’s Paediatric Emergency Centres (PECs) Department, including some 120 suspected cases of child abuse last year alone.
“The QFCWP received a total of 2,716 abuse cases among women and some 2,583 cases involving children during 2004-2012 and cases vary as it could include sexual, physical, neglect, battery, hitting, as well as emotional abuse,” QFCWP research expert Dr Salah al-Mannai said.
He said that the cases involved different nationalities, including Qataris.
The official explained that once the centre, which has a dedicated hotline number 919 for reporting any form of abuse, received a call or information relating to child or woman abuse, it immediately informs the police and take necessary action against the assailant or the abuser.
However, between 2009 and May this year, the number of confirmed cases of child abuse or neglect identified by the PECs was 54.
“Most cases of abuse could comprise sexual, physical as well as neglect and emotional abuses and some cases could have devastating outcomes such as difficulty in breathing and sleeping and waking up,” the PEC Department assistant director Dr Khalid al-Sadi told journalists on the sidelines of a one-day symposium on ‘Child Abuse and Neglect’ held to sensitise HMC’s healthcare and social workers.
The symposium, being held for the third time, was sponsored by Kulluna for Health and Safety Campaign.
While citing four particular instances where children aged below 12 years were reportedly abused by a family member or an outsider in their homes or at an educational facility, PEC Department director Khalid al-Ansari said the number of abuse cases being presented and reported to the PECs is increasing.
“We are receiving more cases of child abuse these days due to education of and more vigilance of healthcare workers, increase in population, introduction of ‘Child Abuse and Neglect Algorithm’ within the department as well as increased co-ordination among the department,” he said.
Children aged from one and half months up to 12 years are falling victims of one form of abuse or the other in Qatar, the official said during a presentation.
“While 53% of children being abused are girls, some 47% are boys,” he said adding: “the percentage of cases show up to 78% of instances of abuse happening among the expatriates and 22% among Qatari population.”
The most common types of child abuse are physical abuse (58%), neglect (9%), sexual abuse (11%) and emotional abuse (15%).
“The percentage of complaints of abuse that we receive are seizure (9%), vomiting and excessive crying (11%), respiratory infection (7%), vaginal bleeding (2%), emotional abuse (5%), bruises and scar (22%), parents-mother/father claim (24%), drowsiness (15%) and fracture (7%),” Dr Al-Ansari highlighted.
According to the official, most of the cases of abuse were reported by mothers, constituting around 72%, father (4%), both parents (12%) and school/nurseries (12%).
