Review Article
Prevalence of Child Abuse in Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2015: A Review of thet Literature
Meaad Mogaddam1, Leena Merdad2, Najlaa Alamoudi2, Omar El Meligy2,3* and Douaa El-Derwi21Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
2Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
3Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Egypt
- *Corresponding Author:
- Omar El Meligy
Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry
King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box: 80209
City: Jeddah 21589 , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Tel: 0122871660
Fax: 0126403316
E-mail: omeligy@kau.edu.sa
Received: September 15, 2015; Accepted: October 15, 2015; Published: October 23, 2015
Citation: Mogaddam M, Merdad L, Alamoudi N, Meligy OE, El-Derwi D (2015) Prevalence of Child Abuse in Saudi Arabia from 2000-2015: A Review of Literature. J Oral Hyg Health 3:189. doi: 10.4172/2332-0702.1000189
Copyright: © 2015 Mogaddam M, et al.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Unfortunately, there have been only limited reports about the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in Saudi Arabia (SA). Determining the magnitude and extent of this phenomenon is essential to construct an effective strategy to counter and prevent it. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in SA over the past 15 years (2000-2015). Studies were gathered by reviewing published papers in the Medline and Google Scholar databases reporting the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in SA over the past 15 years. In 2007, the prevalences of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect in previous studies were 70%, 15%, and 15%, respectively. Between 2000 and 2008, the prevalence of child physical abuse and neglect was greater than other forms of abuse. Additionally, the annual report of the National Family Safety Registry noted the same findings. In 2014, a study in Al-Kharj found that psychological abuse was most prevalent among teenagers. In conclusion, child physical abuse and child neglect were the most prevalent forms of abuse over the last 15 years, whereas the recognition of emotional abuse started late compared with other forms of abuse. Awareness of the phenomenon of child abuse and neglect is improving in SA. Consequently, the detection and reporting of such cases are growing across the nation.
