Most helpline complaints on child abuse, neglect

Muscat, Jan 15 - The child protection helpline (1100), launched a year ago, has so far received 678 calls, of which 330 are related to child abuse and neglect. The 24/7 toll-free helpline received 93 reports of physical abuse, psychological abuse (54), sexual abuse (34) and neglect (149). Muscat Governorate registered the most reports of abuse (157), followed by Batinah North (67), Batinah South (31), Dakhiliyah (21), Sharqiya South (17), Dhahirah (13), Sharqiyah North (12), Buraimi (8) and Dhofar (4). No cases were reported from Wusta and Musandam. The Sultanate, represented by Ministry of Social Development, attaches great importance to children and related issues. It seeks to protect every child to ensure his/her safety and welfare, and preserve his/her rights guaranteed by law. Through the child protection committees across wilayats, each case is dealt with carefully according to their degree of importance and seriousness. The helpline guarantees full confidentiality of the data received from the caller, including caller’s identity, if the caller does not want to be identified. It provides children with an opportunity to express their concerns and talk about issues that directly affect them. Cases are studied and followed up with the authorities concerned. Some reports require immediate intervention by the child protection agents who decide whether the case requires the placement of an abused child at Al Wefaq, a temporary care house. The house, which comes under the Department of Family Protection, is dedicated to protection and rehabilitation of children subjected to abuse. The data contained in reports are recorded in an electronic database connected to the helpline. The data is analysed and interpreted with the aim of developing therapeutic as well as preventive plans to limit the phenomenon of child abuse. Latest figures show children account for more than 41 per cent of the Omani population. Aged between 0 and 17, there were more than 1.06 million children by the middle of 2016. According to the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of births rose by 22 per cent between 2012 and 2016 at a rate of 33.7 live births per 1,000 inhabitants. Zainab al Nassri