Forum on child abuse opens in Riyadh

RIYADH: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, on Tuesday inaugurated the National Forum for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation of Children via the Internet in Riyadh.
The forum was organized by the General Directorate of Public Security in cooperation with several departments of the Ministry of Interior, and governmental and non-governmental agencies.
The forum witnessed regional and international participation, including 12 countries and 15 community-based organizations, international bodies, and national and regional associations to discuss the problem of sexual exploitation of children over the Internet, and how to protect them from abuse.
“Family, school and the mosque have a greater role to play in the lives of children to protect them from abuse,” was the consensus of the speakers, who addressed the delegates at the forum during the first day of the conference.
In his address during the first scientific session, Assistant Director of Public Security for Security Affairs Major General Jamaan bin Ahmad Al-Ghamdi told parents, teachers and imams to pay special care to the children by telling them of the dangers they could face from strangers.
He pointed out that the common weapons used by criminals to lure children include giving financial assistance, creating a sense of fear in the mind of the child, offering hands of love and friendship which the child has been denied at home, and gaining the trust of the child by being friendly.
He also told parents not to isolate the child from the other family members and leave them alone with the Internet. “Regular monitoring of the child is important for the parents to know what is happening around the child,” he noted.
Al-Ghamdi also related that proper religious guidance will help children. Religious and cultural environments make the child feel more secure and confident to fight against advances made by strangers.