Children’s kidnappings are driven by sexual abuse in Algeria

The head of the office for the children’s protection at the national police headquarters, Mrs Kheira Messaoudene revealed that a boy left his home for another town after failing to pass his exams and stabbed himself.

The head of the office for the children’s protection at the national police headquarters, Mrs Kheira Messaoudene revealed that a boy left his home for another town after failing to pass his exams and stabbed himself.

Answering to security services, the child pretended that he was kidnapped but, further investigations showed that he built up a whole story to avoid his parents’ punishment after this failure.

The police commissioner said that her services treated similar cases which, she said “most of the disappearances are just escapes from home following bad results at school”.

As to the phenomenon of abductions, she added that this one was prevailing in the seventies and eighties, the media uproar put to the surface. Mrs Messaoudene laid the blame on media professionals who, according to her, spread panic among families neglecting to double check their sources.

The police official said that the main drives behind children’s kidnappings were sexual abuses backing her presentation by several cases treated by her elements last year who recorded some 1574 case. She said that porn films deepened the crisis of moral values in the Algerian society” There is a real moral crisis in the Algerian society, especially when dealing with sexual abuses on innocent children”, she said.

Estimates reveal that 90% of the kidnappings are due to the parent’s neglect “ the criminals select their prey in due time on the right place” she said, referring to the three year old girl who has been abused in the street late at night.