NSCP receives 172 complaints in 16 months

Centers suspended

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 9: President of the National Society for Child Protection (NSCP) Dr Siham Al-Freih said the society received 172 complaints from April 2018 to August 2019 – 155 of which are against relatives and 17 against strangers, reports Al-Qabas daily.

Al-Freih revealed these include 16 sexual harassment complaints – 12 against relatives and four against strangers, 23 physical abuse complaints – 18 against relatives and five against strangers, 63 psychological and verbal abuse complaints – 60 against relatives and three against strangers, 10 lack of child care complaints against relatives, 20 abuse and lack of education complaints – 15 against relatives and five against strangers. She added about 40 percent of these cases were exposed to danger due to their complaints.

She also stressed the importance of enforcing Child Act number 21 for the year 2015, especially the provision which prohibits children under the legal age from traveling without a parent or guardian.

On the negative aspects that cast a shadow on the child and society due to non-implementation of the above mentioned act, she explained an underage who travels alone is certainly not good as he might be exposed to things that are offensive to him and he does not know how to deal with them.

She pointed out that it is not the responsibility of the society to investigate complaints but it is ready to provide volunteer lawyers with the necessary information, adding the Social Police is the institution authorized deal with minors and conduct investigations.

Ministry of Education has suspended the Guidance and Psychological Centers in all educational zones, a decision workers in the two fields describe as” backward“, considering the widespread of behavioral cases in schools and increase in the number of students having family problems, reports Al-Rai daily.