Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: An interview with Jordanian journalist, Hanan Khandagji, who uncovered harrowing child abuse cases while researching institutions for disabled children.
An interview with Jordanian journalist, Hanan Khandagji, who uncovered harrowing child abuse cases while researching institutions for disabled children. The journalist went into the institutions disguised as a volunteer worker, explaining, “I knew if I had gone into these places saying I was a journalist things would have seemed to be quite different. It would have looked like the children were being well cared for and that the nurses and caregivers were incredibly kind. That's why I decided to go in as a volunteer worker. I was shocked by how the children were treated. I went to another institution and found the same abuses and conditions, and I interviewed parents who confirmed that their children were being beaten, burned and sexually abused. The medical reports I saw also confirmed this.†Asked whether her work resulted in any legal ramifications for abuses, she replied, “There have definitely been some changes. Some of the institutions were closed down, and the King appointed a committee which produced a report within 14 days. It pointed to alarming conditions - to children being put into cages or given sleeping pills during the day to make them sleep. Seventeen heads of institutions had to appear before court on charges of torture and neglect. Some laws have been changed and there are tighter restrictions for establishing an institution, but there haven't been any radical changes. It's still fairly easy to establish an institution, and institutions should not be the ones hiring caregivers - this should be done by independent government agencies. Overall, there needs to be stricter supervision, and this could be partly done by organizations from civil society.†Her efforts were recently recognized by the German Development Media Award.Â