Conference on violence against children in JU
08-04-2016
During the opening of the work of the first conference on violence against children organized by the Department of Pediatric and Forensic Medicine/ School of Medicine in the University of Jordan (JU) and the American organization (BRANCH), the President of JU Prof. Azmi Mahafzah said that child abuse leaves lifelong physical and psychological impairments and undermines economic and social growth of the country as a result of the social and professional impacts left behind.
During his speech, Prof. Mahafzah said that child abuse varies from physical, psychological, and sexual abuse to neglect, although there have been cases of starving to death.
NCFA Secretary-General Fadel AL-Hmoud highlighted the Jordanian model for handling child abuses and the policies that are implemented to advance, protect and provide a safe environment for the family and its members. Al-Hmoud also spoke about the national family protection project that involved the participation of several sectors to curb family violence and assaults which relies on raising awareness on the consequences of violence and focuses on breaking the silence, encouraging institutions to intervene and enhance the spirit of joint work, and developing a national framework for family protection as a reference document for national institutions in addition to creating a national team for family protection.
Prof. Islam Massad, Conference President and the School’s Dean, pointed out that the conference will discuss several working papers centered on the phenomenon of violence against children and its solutions.
Dr. Iman Badran, Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee of the Conference, Head of the Pediatric Department indicated that the first case to be published by the Department on child abuse was in 1988, noting the existing gap between abuse detection and reporting which was shown in several medical articles published by the Faculties of Dentistry in the University of Jordan and University of Science and Technology.
The initiator of the conference Dr. Dena Nazer, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Wayne State University and a former graduate of JU explained that the conference is not the first of its kind in Jordan to talk about child rights but it is the first medical conference that brings together doctors specialized in child protection with institutions concerned with children's rights to cooperate hand in hand against child abuse, pointing out that BRANCH is a non-profit institution with the ultimate goal of protecting the child and spreading awareness and culture across the world.
The conference covered a number of working papers on child rights and elimination of violence against children presented by specialists and experts from relevant public and civil institutions.
August 4th,2016
