Lamenting a lack of social and legal institutions and the absence of studies and data on domestic violence in Qatar, experts here have called on the country to work harder to tackle the problem.

The discussion was spurred during a symposium held by the Qatar Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children earlier this week, at which at a law enforcement official encouraged the government to do more.

The Peninsula reports:

(Captain Banna) Al Khulaifi proposed a number of steps that she said the state should take to make sure that the incidents of domestic violence were reduced in number.

She said an awareness campaign should be launched and the effort should begin at the school level, Al Sharq reported yesterday.

Other speakers suggested that the phenomenon of family violence in Qatar was, though, on the rise its extent was not known since there were no studies and statistics.

“So what is needed is an effort to launch extensive studies on the issue and collection of relevant data,” said one speaker.

Read the full report here.