Sexual abuse spreading in Sana’a primary schools [Archives:2007/1108/Reportage]
Nawal Ali
For Yemen Times
Ten-year-old Ahmed (not his real name) was a prominent student in his fourth grade class, always sitting in the front row and participating in class. According to his teachers, he was a distinguished student, but last year, he changed remarkably. He began sitting in the last row and was silent most of the time. He didn't do his homework. He became isolated as his psychological state deteriorated. One of his teachers threatened to go to his parents if he refused to tell her what was wrong, at which Ahmed told her that he was being sexually abused by older students in his class.
How many stories like Ahmed's exist in Yemen?
A 2006 Ministry of Interior report entitled “Sexual Abuse Against Children” revealed that there are 606 sexual abuse cases involving children in 19 Yemeni governorates; however, it's unclear whether the incidents occurred in schools, at home or on the streets.
The report didn't include sexual abuse of children in Marib, in Al-Jawf governorate or in Al-Mahrah governorate due to traditional customs, where people regard the issue of sexual abuse as sensitive. The Yemeni government also has no specific figures on sexual abuse in primary schools.
A female teacher who didn't want to be identified affirms that she has firsthand knowledge of sexual abuse at her primary school in Sana'a. She says poverty plays a big role in the problem's spread because, with just a little money, poor children are easily convinced to be sexually exploited.
Another teacher also wishing to remain anonymous believes no Yemeni primary schools are healthy in this regard because they contain older (between 41-17 years of age) students who have been studying the same grade for years. “older students studying in the same classroom with children has negative effects on the young students,” she maintains.
“The presence of older students in children's classrooms is dangerous enough to poison our children's minds, so they should be separated. Additionally, the Education Ministry should come up with a suitable solution for this situation,” she proposes.
Many Yemeni secondary students study in the morning, while primary students attend class in the afternoon. According to some educators, this time for primary students, who are actually children, is not good. Because older students leave school when primary students are arriving, some older students find it an ideal and easy time to exploit children due to the absence of administration then.
One female teacher alleges, “Young students are molested by older students. Additionally, younger students get out of school just before sunset, which is too late for them. Yemen's Education Ministry should change this schedule to suit students and protect schoolchildren,” she says.
Another teacher believes such problems occur due to carelessness and lack of supervision by both families and school administration; thus, parents and teachers should be sufficiently aware to raise children healthily, as it is a shared responsibility.
A spreading phenomenon
Jamal Al-Shami, chairman of the Democracy School, a local NGO, notes that sexual abuse of children is a taboo no one dares talk about and which people prefer keeping quiet rather than informing security authorities. “People are afraid of shame and scandal,” he explains.
Once his organization adopted this issue and began opening files on child sexual abuse in Sana'a, Al-Shami went on to say, “We found many people willing to talk about the problem.
“The Children's Parliament played a large part in opening those files and promoting children's rights,” he points out, noting, “We found many cooperative security authorities, families and doctors. Additionally, we were able to diagnose and publicize many other similar issues.”
Al-Shami considers sexual abuse of children a widespread phenomenon. He believes that one major reason for it is that Yemeni youth are suffering psychological suppression due to misusing such technologies as television, mobile phones and the internet.
Another reason for such sexually abusive behavior in Yemen is that children sleep in the same room with their parents, who are unaware that this may negatively impact their children's behavior, especially when they have sex. “Parents think their children are unaware of such things,” he adds, “however, children are curious to emulate.”
Parental carelessness also increases the problem because they don't inform their children about sexual abuse. Al-Shami adds, “This is why children will remain victims. Families should understand their important role to raise their children with enough knowledge about the outside world,” noting that children should be taught about sexuality simply from the viewpoint of protecting them.
He further asserts that the Education Ministry should move forward by empowering primary school supervisors and providing Yemeni students sexual education, including healthy instructions and information strictly regarding nothing more than protecting themselves.
Al-Shami also blames Yemeni laws, which he describes as sketchy, and which encourage abusers to continue such abuse, especially when they are related to the children. “Legislation should be strict upon such criminals, whoever they are,” he points out.
Last year, the Democracy School organized a campaign against sexual abuse of children, including posters with colorful drawings and messages such as, “Say no to bad touching,” “Never stay outside of the house too late,” “I tell my family everything that happens to me” and “Never go with strangers.”
Although the campaign was successful, the organization wasn't allowed to put such posters in primary schools, so the group distributed them during its other activities.
Ali Awadh Farwah, head of the Interior Ministry's Women and Juveniles Department, maintains that sexual abuse of children is not widespread in Yemen, but only a problem in one or two areas of the country. “Because Yemen is a very conservative society, we rarely receive reports of child abuse,” he says.
According to him, sexual abuse of children is spreading throughout the nation due to ignorance and illiteracy, noting that, “People are unaware of children's rights and the consequences of sexually abusing them.”
He goes on, “Yemenis have no idea that the law is there to order their lives and that they should respect it. The law considers sexual abuse of children a crime, for which abusers will be punished according to child protection laws no. 24, 26 and 45.”
Farwah points out that Yemen does have a juvenile court and that every police station contains a representative from his department to handle juvenile cases. Additionally, he notes, “We printed a guide for police officers on how to deal with juvenile problems properly and this guide is provided to all police stations.”
Farwah also states that his department, in cooperation with the Education Ministry, will implement a new education program in Yemeni primary schools to protect children and ensure their safety.
However, according to the department's media section, sexual abuse of children likely will increase because people don't like to report such cases.
“Because they worry about the shame of it, citizens don't report child sexual abuse, but then they keep complaining about such problems and saying that security authorities don't do anything,” one media official noted.
One female sociologist at a Sana'a primary school reveals that she's handled several sexual abuse cases at her school, receiving them from schoolteachers themselves. Having talked to many sexually abused schoolchildren, she explains, “Such children exhibit particular behaviors, such as being worried, absentminded or confused when talking to them.”
According to her, the offending older students exhibit such misbehavior in class, including kissing other students, behaving abnormally, winking at students, touching boys' genitals, etc.
She continues, “I talk calmly to sexually abused children when they come to my office and they tell me everything. However, parents often refuse to believe or deny such stories when I tell them because they don't want to acknowledge such behavior regarding their children. Consequently, they then insult and beat the child harshly.”
The sociologist points out that a wide gap exists between students and their parents, noting that “Other people often know that a child has been sexually abused, but not the parents.”
She goes on to say that because they can be tempted and threatened, younger students are more easily sexually abused than older students.
“older students exploit the innocence of younger students, in whom they may satisfy their sexual desires. However, some youngsters are curious to try deviant behavior such as homosexuality, but they fall prey in the end,” she explains, further exhorting Yemeni parents to raise their children according to Islamic teachings, in addition to observing their friends and their children's behavior.
Psychologist Salah Al-Jumaei believes that sexual abuse at primary schools is a recent phenomenon due to weak religious adherence, asserting that “Our children need to be raised religiously and mosque preachers should play a significant role in increasing youths' awareness.”
He adds that youth experience high levels of suppression due to modern technological advances such as satellite television, mobile phones, the internet, etc. “This is why they attempt to find different ways to discharge their sexual desires by sexually abusing children,” he explains.
Chewing qat also increases the distance between parents and their children, Al-Jumaei says. “Parents are involved in qat sessions, while their children are left alone on the streets or with strangers.”
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