Eight in Ten Children Face Abuse

A workshop in Damascus this week revealed high levels of child abuse, the pro-government website Cham Press reported on July 28.



The workshop, held on July 28 and sponsored jointly by the Ministry of High Education and the Syrian Committee for Family Affairs, focused on a government report that said eight in ten Syrian children are exposed to abuse and more than that suffer verbal abuse.



The report was based on research by education professors and postgraduate students, experts from the Syrian Committee for Family Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund and several ministries.



Its recommendations included a hotline where children could call in; special postboxes in schools where they could drop notes; larger numbers of trained specialists; and the creation of research centres to study violence against children.