Shura Council member Dr. Latifa Al-Shaalan confirmed; In her intervention on the report of the Family Affairs Council, the Council distracts itself by taking the lead in initiatives that have no value in its roles, including programs aimed at training early childhood specialists, or launching an award for small projects. Such initiatives can reduce its burden and are at the core of the work of other institutions.
She added: The majority of the Council’s initiatives are purely educational goals. Such as campaigns titled (He will be raised with your dignity), a campaign titled (Reassure me about you), and a campaign titled (Malik Haq) against bullying. She said: We need awareness-raising initiatives, and there is nothing wrong with their other initiatives, such as preparing for marriage, preparing for retirement, podcast episodes, and walking, but we need specific initiatives from the council that have an actual impact on achieving its goals, in the prosperity of the family, and in aspiring to it to be among the elite of similar councils internationally.
She criticized the absence of any initiative of the Council to study legislation related to the family, although one of the paths to achieve the goals as mentioned in the report is (expressing an opinion on legislation), and she wondered: Where are the views expressed by the Council in legislation related to the family such as the personal status system, and the protection system from victimization, child protection system.
She hinted that the report on domestic violence contained only a few awareness campaigns on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in addition to a project called (calculating the cost of violence against women), a project whose aim was to raise awareness and build a database. She explained that the answers of the representatives of the Family Council to the committee’s inquiries revealed that the higher percentage of the economic cost of violence against women was directed towards “protection services”, while the lower costs were directed towards “prevention services”, and the costs directed towards “rehabilitation and integration services” seemed inconsistent. It is clear, which indicates the lack of rehabilitation and integration services for battered women, or that data on the value of these services is not available. She attributed to a well-reviewed and published 2019 Saudi study conducted by a team of Saudi doctors and researchers and conducted in 6 cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Medina, Taif, Arar and Al-Ahsa. It concluded that one out of every 3 women is a victim of domestic violence. Its promise is a global issue and not specific to one society over another. And she praised what was issued by the Council of Ministers, including the amendment of Article Two of the organization of the Family Affairs Council, and thus became organizationally linked to the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, and enjoys legal personality and financial and administrative independence.
