Among all Arab countries, only Somalia has not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which protects children against all forms of physical or sexual abuse. Current penal codes, while addressing this issue, remain inadequate and poorly monitored. The details of legislation specific to certain violations are presented below.

Countries such as Iraq, Mauritania and Yemen have reported a lack of financial resources that hinders the implementation of protection policies.

When it comes to addressing child abuse, Jordan was the first country to launch an independent child protection system in 1996. In the years that followed, Arab countries showed increased commitment to the cause of children’s rights. In 2004, the first ever meeting was held in Amman between 18 Arab states to tackle the maltreatment of children. Consequently, the Marrakech Declaration, released in 2010 after the fourth Arab conference on the rights of the children, reaffirmed the intentions to ‘combat all forms of violence against children’ and to strengthen the implementation of existing laws, protection programs, and reporting mechanisms.

Yet even with this continuous interest, violence against children including corporal punishment is still very much prevalent. In Jordan, the first country to initiate this trend, a UNICEF study from 2007 revealed that between 2 to 7 of 100 children are sexually abused by family members and school teachers. Similarly an article entitled “Child Abuse and Neglect in the Arab Peninsula” published in the Saudi Medical Journal exposes shocking numbers1. 86% of Kuwaiti parents and 82% of Yemeni parents believed that corporal punishment is an appropriate means for discipline. 80% of pediatricians interviewed for a Kuwait-based study said they did not know whether they have a legal obligation to report child’s injuries or not.

In many of the cases where the mothers are the inflictors of the violence, they tend to be very young brides of older men. A study from Bahrain revealed that 80% of rural mothers use corporal punishment while the figure is 59% for urban mothers, and that women with lower educational standards are much more likely to use corporal punishment. A similar study in Yemen revealed that in 51.6% of child injury cases, the mothers were married at very young ages, and that in 71.8% of the cases the family had had a history of domestic violence2.

The overarching culture and mentality in the Arab world makes it acceptable for parents to physically punish their children. For this reason, any study inquiring about corporal punishment or child abuse will face the possible shortcoming of the participants only recalling extreme incidents. Keeping this in mind, it is still possible to identify some of the roots behind this pervasiveness of violence. Dr. Hani Jahshan of Jordan’s Family Protection Unit has cited economic hardship and other family problems as factors increasing the likelihood of incurring harm on children. Al-Mahroos also identified other risk factors such as early motherhood and marital discords (242).

With the obvious drawbacks in the legal system, a few questions come to mind. To what extent can a state interfere in domestic matters? And what would constitute the definition of what is considered ‘corporal punishment’? Acknowledging this slippery slope does not mean denying the necessity of the legal protection of children.

Several studies have confirmed the long-term effects of physical and emotional abuse in childhood. Psychological implications of child abuse are much more significant than mental illnesses that did not originate in abuse, not forgetting the physical injuries that are also inflicted on children. So while implementing these laws will remain tricky, it is still essential to at least provide monitoring mechanisms along with centers or help lines that children can trust and approach with complaints.

1 Al Mahrous, Fadheela T. “Child Abuse and Neglect in the Arab Peninsula”. Saudi Medical Journal. 28.2 (2007). 241-248. Web.

2 Al Mahrous, “Child Abuse and Neglect in the Arab Peninsula”, 246.