Over 1,600 cases of child abuse have been reported in Qatar over the last seven years, the Qatar Foundation for Child and Women Protection has said.

The actual number of children who experienced abuse between 2004 and 2010 is likely higher because the taboo nature of such crimes cause many of them to go unreported, experts said.

The Peninsula reports:

More than 461 of the total number of abused children fell prey to family violence and others were subjected to physical, physiological, sexual harassment, a local daily reported yesterday.

The fact that sexual abuse of children is rampant is largely because the parents or guardians of affected children choose to remain silent and do not report the matter to law-enforcement agencies for fear of social embarrassment due to the conservative nature of society.

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