Child physical and sexual abuse in Dammam, Saudi Arabia: A descriptive case-series analysis study

Background: Child abuse, including sexual abuse, is a problem in all societies regardless of cultural and/or religious backgrounds. Until 2007, the law referred victims of sexual crimes to gynecologists for forensic examination in Saudi Arabia. Since then, the Forensic Department has taken over responsibility for the examination of such cases; a special forensic clinic was established at that time. Objective: To describe the socio-medical and forensic characteristics of reported cases of living child abuse in the maternity and children hospital (MCH) and the forensic and legal center (FLC) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Research design and methods: This research uses a descriptive case-series analysis that targets all reported physical and sexual assaults on victims less than 18 years old in the MCH from 2008 till the end of 2010 and FLC from 2006 to 2010. Results: Out of 87 reported cases, 85% of the assaults were sexual, 12.6% of the assaults were non- sexual and 2.3% were combined (both sexual and non-sexual abuse). Cases of sexual abuse were significantly higher in the older age group in comparison to the non-sexually assaulted group, which occurred more often at younger ages (P < 0.001). The mean age was (11.04 + 5.07). Most victims were females (56.3%) and Saudi (90.8%). Conclusion: There is an increasing pattern of reports over recent years. Therefore, there is a need for more collaboration and advertising about the forensic clinic in order to improve the handling of sexual abuse cases.