Citation

Al-Zayed B, Alshehri AAA, Alshanawani H, Alresheedi ZO, Alshammari RDA, Alrashed N, Ibrahim SF. Forensic Sci. Int. Rep. 2020; 2: e100125.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.fsir.2020.100125

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Child maltreatment (CM) exists throughout the world, including within the Arab region. However, the resources addressing CM in Saudi Arabia remain limited. The study described the medico-legal characteristics of CM victims referred to the Saudi Forensic Medicine Center during the years 2015 and 2016. There were 385 cases of CM included in the study. Most cases involved boys (72.1 %) who experienced sexual assaults (98 %), for which forensic evidence was non-conclusive (59.2 %). These findings represent the tip of the iceberg regarding the magnitude of CM in the Kingdom and should compel child protective authorities to develop effective strategies to minimize it.

Language: en

Keywords

Child maltreatment; Medical forensics; Saudi Arabia