Bahrain to implement stringent punishments for child abusers

Manama : In the wake of recurring child abuse cases in the country, the Labour and Social Development Ministry is gearing up for implementing stringent punishments against child abusers.

The ministry, which is responsible for protecting children’s rights, said in a statement yesterday that tougher penalties against child abusers will be adopted soon as per the directives of Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel Humaidan said that “the ministry and the National Commission for Childhood would do their utmost to convert the Premier’s directives into reality through revising the existing legislation. They will also activate the National Strategy for Childhood, which stipulates the right of every child to health, physical and psychological safety and education.” 

The minister’s statement followed the bizarrely increasing child abuse cases, including the torture and killing of a Bahraini nine-year-old girl by her father and stepmother, the abduction and assault of an Indian five-year-old girl and the death of a 14-year-old Bahraini girl due to an alleged medical negligence in Salmaniya Medical Complex, during the past two weeks.

Speaking about the ministry’s Child Protection Centre, Humaidan elaborated: “The role of the facility would be activated soon to ensure the provision of integrated services for children. It will be done in concert with relevant official authorities, including Education Ministry, Interior Ministry, Public Prosecution, Health Ministry, as well as the Labour and Social Development Ministry’s specialists.” “The ministry had also launched the toll-free Child Help Line (998).” 

It is noteworthy that the National Commission for Childhood was re-organised as per ministerial edict 4/2016.

A strategic specialist from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was appointed to lead the ministry’s team entrusted with following up on the implementation of the executive plan of the National Strategy for Childhood (2013-2017). Work is also in full swing to prepare the fourth national report regarding the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Bahrain in 1991.

The ministry added that about 620 children had benefited from the Child Protection Centre in 2015, while the number of beneficiaries has reached 330 in the first half of this year. 

According to the ministry’s statistics, the 998 Child Help Live received 1,200 calls last year.