CAIRO: A staggering 352 children in Egypt were killed as a result of violence in 2008, a report issued by the Land Center for Human Rights (LCHR) said on Sunday.
The report said that violence against children has increased in 2008, with a total of 664 cases of violent assaults reported.
In the second half of 2008, the report says, more than half of the children who were victims of violence died, translating quantitatively to 186 dead out of 353 reported cases.
Fifty-eight children were sexually assaulted in and outside of the family and school. Eight cases reported assaults from immediate family members, while 11 were sexually assaulted in their schools.
Up to 38 children were physically abused and beaten by their own family members, 33 of which were reported dead, according to the report.
The reasons behind child abuse, according to the report, may be traced back to “disobedience, involuntarily urination, constant crying, financial issues or to please the second wife.
Housewives were reported quickest to resort to violence against children, yet more fathers have killed their own children. Twenty-three housewives were reported to have used violence against their children compared to 18 men.
Of 32 reported murders, 12 victims were killed by their fathers, 11 were killed by their mothers and the remaining nine were killed by immediate family members.
The lack of proper health care also contributed to child deaths in 2008. Thirteen injuries and 19 deaths were reported, while 23 others were left with permanent disabilities as a result of negligence.
Misdiagnoses, undergoing surgeries in private clinics that do not meet standard requirements and the absence of doctors in health units or governmental hospitals are the main reasons the report gave for these deaths.
The LCHR report cites 73 of the 6,000 killed in road accidents annually in Egypt, as children.
In 2008, 11 child kidnappings were reported whether for revenge, ransom or by couples who are unable to have children.
The center demanded that amendments be made to the child law in order to lay down harsher punishments – up to life in prison – for sexual predators, child trafficking or any other crimes against children.
Aiding underprivileged families and providing a proper social and health care system would decrease the number of crimes committed for financial reasons and would prevent parents from leading children to a life of crime, the report recommended.
