Sidra Medicine Launches Seminar Series on Processes for Reporting Child Abuse

Free seminar to become regular series for healthcare professionals

9 November 2025, Doha, Qatar –  Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, has launched a series of free online seminars on how to report child abuse.  Titled “Multidisciplinary Approaches to Child Abuse: Prevention, Intervention, and Support”, the seminars by the Sidra Medicine’s Child Advocacy Program (SCAP), is targeted at physicians, nurses and allied health professionals.

Prof. Khalid Al Ansari, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Sidra Medicine said: “The aim of our seminars is to equip professionals from the healthcare sector including those in nurseries and schools, with the knowledge on how to look out for signs and to report any cases where they suspect a child is being abused or being treated harshly.  We also want to address misconceptions as child abuse is not just physical or sexual violence. Child abuse can be anything that jeopardizes the well-being of a child including neglect, causing psychological harassment, emotional trauma or any act of commission or omission that puts a child’s life in danger.”

Lead by experts from the SCAP team, topics include – The child protection referral system and pathways; What are the legal responsibilities in reporting child maltreatment; Early recognition and referral of child malnutrition and the Consequences of non-reporting and the impact of silence and inaction.

Dr. Nadeem Jilani, Medical Director of Sidra Medicine’s Child Advocacy said: “Qatar’s law mandates professionals report suspected cases of child abuse to authorities. We currently have a nationally agreed-upon child abuse referral pathway in which suspected child abuse cases from other healthcare clinics or schools are referred to the central hub of the Sidra Medicine’s Child Advocacy Program (SCAP). We believe it our collective responsibility to put in place guidelines and processes that will address child abuse as well as provide resources and services to keep children safe.”

The current referral pathway for reporting child abuse consists of sending the referral to the SCAP team at Sidra Medicine. After receiving the referral, the SCAP team– which includes trained physicians, nurses, social workers and child psychologists – triage the cases before appropriate action is taken.

The triage processes include several protocols such medical evaluations and psychological assessments; interviewing and counseling; confidential documentation and legal reporting.  The team works closely with several government agencies including Qatar’s national social services; law enforcement and the legal sector as well as other healthcare institutions, schools, and non-governmental agencies.

Ms. Moza Al Mannai, Manager of Child Protective Services at Sidra Medicine said: “The importance of early recognition cannot be overemphasized in cases of child maltreatment. Often children who are being abused, present with unexplained bruises or injuries before they end up with severe life-threatening injuries. Therefore, healthcare professionals shouldn’t hesitate to ask more probing questions if they find an injury is not explained by the mechanism being offered by the parents or carers. Timely intervention and providing support could prevent serious harm to a child.”

Signs healthcare providers need to look out for that may indicate abuse or neglect and warrant extra attention and a referral to child protection services:

• Any unexplained bruise, burn or injury fracture in a non-mobile infant must warrant a referral to child protection services even if the parents offer an innocent explanation.
• Malnourished and dehydrated children
• Children who are in an unkempt condition or with poor personal hygiene including severe diaper rash in babies
• Not attending clinic appointments on a regular basis or not administering regular medicine to children with chronic conditions leading them to present frequently to the Emergency department in a dire state.

How to report

• Public Inquiries can be made to the Sidra Medicine SCAP child helpline at 4003 4000. If no one is available to answer, please leave a voicemail with your name and number.
• There is a separate referral pathway for other healthcare institutions including schools and nurseries. Details can be found here.
• However, if you see or sense that there is an immediate danger to the child, we strongly recommend calling 999 to reach emergency services or the police.

To register for the Multidisciplinary Approaches to Child Abuse seminars, please visit www.sidra.org/events. The next session will be in December 2025.

For more details about Sidra Medicine’s Child Advocacy Program, please visit: www.sidra.org.