Princess Adela bint Abdullah Launched the 6th Experts Meeting (IHSAN)
Her Royal Highness Princess Adela bint Abdullah, Chairman of the National Family Safety Program (NFSP) launched the 6th National Experts Meeting for the Prevention of Violence against the Elderly under the slogan (IHSAN) on Tuesday, October 18th, 2016. The event was held at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Convention Center.
On this occasion, Dr. Maha Al Muneef - Executive Director of the National Family Safety Program delivered a speech in which she said: " Organizing the national expert meeting annually aims to build bridges of cooperation with all government and civil agencies involved in domestic violence, and we hope it will contribute in exchanging national experiences and the participation in the development of domestic violence prevention proposals and the mechanism to deal with this phenomenon".
Dr. Al Muneef also confirmed that 6th expert meeting comes as a continuation of the efforts of the National Family Safety Program in establishing the prevention of domestic violence bases in Saudi Arabia, pointing out that the meeting highlights the issue of violence against the elderly, as one of the age groups that may be exposed to domestic violence and that it needs more support through comprehensive prevention programs.
Additionally, Dr. Al Muneef reviewed in her speech the previous meetings, where the first meeting was held in 2008 focused on the themes of domestic violence from a religious perspective. Then in 2009, the meeting covered the developments in addressing domestic violence in Saudi Arabia from a judicial perspective. Moreover, covering the developments in addressing violence from a security and judicial perspective under the slogan " Family Safety is National Safety" was in the 2010 meeting. In 2011, however, the meeting focused on social protection. And last but not least, in 2013, the meeting highlighted the media as a strategic partner in the prevention of domestic violence.
After that, Her Royal Highness Princess Adela bint Abdullah, Chairman of the National Family Safety Program (NFSP) delivered a speech in which she pointed out: “ The sixth national experts meeting organized by the National Family Safety Program will shed light on the violence against the elderly in all its forms, including direct physical and psychological violence and abuse, or indirect through the physical, psychological and social negligence by family or society members.
Princess Adela also added that this meeting has already been held five times where several relevant domestic violence topics were discussed, to further prevent abuse while promoting the values and principles for building a stable family, indicating that this meeting and the accompanying exhibition aims to put forward a comprehensive approach to address violence towards the elderly, and examine the role of government and civil society institutions in the prevention of this issue, in addition to offering ways to deal with the consequences.
She also said that with the evolution of health care services, the proportion of elderly people in the Kingdom has increased, and now they represent 7.3% from the community, where the percentage was 4.8% back in 2000. Subsequently, it is expected that the figure will rise up to 8% 2025, and this calls for exploring the problems faced by the elderly and planning solutions in order to ensure a better life for them.
After that, Princess Adela opened the 6th National Experts Meeting exhibition which hosts the participation of many government and private entities.
Later on, the scientific sessions were commenced tackling the issue of violence against the elderly. The following is the scientific program of the meeting: the rights of the elderly in Saudi Laws and the consequent legislation for the prevention of violence, the care of the elderly and its role in the prevention of violence and the role of institutions in enabling the elderly.
It is worth mentioning that the National Safety Family Program was established on the 18th of November 2005 aiming to protect family members against violence and abuse, which operates under the umbrella of Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs.