NEZIHA BOUSAIDI

Tunis – In our societies, the stories of pain left by sexual violence against children continue, revealing the fragility of oversight systems and the weakness of institutional responses to the most horrific human rights violations. The case of the child who was assaulted inside his kindergarten is not merely an individual incident, but an alarm bell exposing gaps in child protection and placing responsibility on official and social bodies to act immediately. Silence or leniency in the face of such crimes only entrenches a culture of impunity, while victims and their families are left to confront deep psychological and social consequences.

Nearly two weeks ago, the little boy returned home with his mother, but he was sad, angry, and walked heavily and unusually. When his mother asked him why he was upset, he replied that he would not go to kindergarten again because the photographer there had hurt him.

He pointed to the place with his finger, prompting his mother to check him, only to discover that her son had been sexually assaulted. She took him to a doctor for a medical examination and then filed a complaint with the Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood, and the Elderly. However, she was not summoned to give her testimony, and no action was taken to inspect or close the kindergarten and punish the perpetrator, even though her child was not the only victim.

Amid the pain that consumes the mother and the daily psychological impact on the child, a social media page concerned with women’s issues published the story. The news spread rapidly across all platforms, with millions writing about it, expressing condemnation, denunciation, and outrage, while demands varied regarding the type of punishment that should be imposed on the perpetrator and the kindergarten where he worked.

According to the latest developments in the case, four people have been detained pending investigation, while the kindergarten owner has left the country, and the Ministry of Women has not taken a decision to close the institution.

Serious and Shocking

Many women’s associations described the sexual assault of the child as horrific. In a statement, the Latifa Taam Allah Association said:

“The incident of a three-year-old child being assaulted inside a kindergarten in the Ennasr district of Tunis is serious and shocking, especially as it has become a recurring occurrence against children in places that are supposed to provide care and protection.”

The statement stressed the necessity of opening a serious and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the incident, holding the criminals accountable, ensuring transparency in the application of the law without favoritism, and urgently providing psychological and legal support to the child and his family.

For its part, the Equality Organization issued a statement strongly condemning the harassment and assault of the child and called for the accountability of the perpetrator and all those involved in facilitating, participating in, or concealing the crime, whether from inside or outside the place where it occurred, through the serious, strict, and deterrent application of the law.

It held the Ministry of Family, Women, Childhood, and the Elderly responsible:

First, for negligence and procrastination in following up on files related to sexual violence, harassment, and rape, and even attempting to justify these crimes, which has turned them into a recurring and widespread phenomenon in society in the absence of effective protection, tracking, and accountability mechanisms.

Second, for the lack of serious follow-up of nearly 9,930 child institutions, including about 5,600 private kindergartens and 500 nurseries, supervised by only around 43 inspectors and 177 pedagogical assistants, which negatively affects serious and responsible supervision, weakens oversight mechanisms, and contributes to the spread of unregulated childcare facilities outside state control that have caused many disasters.

Third, for adhering to a bureaucratic administrative approach that obstructs the implementation of closure decisions or the enforcement of the law, posing a real danger to children and threatening their physical and psychological safety.

State Silence

Commenting on what happened, Sara Ben Said, Executive Director of the Aswat Nissa Association, told our agency:

“After the sexual assault of a three-year-old child, a wave of anger erupted on social media. Unfortunately, sexual harassment exists in Tunisia. Statistics confirm that 80 percent of Tunisian women have experienced some form of harassment, and the same applies to children. This phenomenon is largely silenced, especially within institutions that we consider educational.”

She held the government responsible for what is happening to women and children:

“The government is silent on this issue and on the chaotic nurseries and kindergartens. It has abandoned its social role and is no longer investing in the education and childhood sector, leaving capital as the only investor in these fields and opening the doors to an unqualified workforce in child education, which has led to the spread of sexual harassment and violence against children in private institutions.”

She explained that civil society has been working for years on the issue of violence against women and children, and that Law No. 58 addresses violence against women and children, but there is complete governmental silence and no discussion of the phenomenon.

Grave Consequences

Samia Ben Salama Latif, a retired health sector worker and civil society activist, said:

“What happened to the child is a very horrific crime that caused me pain, just as it pained many people, because it has serious consequences for the child victim and for society in general.”

She added:

“I do not think it is the first, and I hope it will be the last, but the question always asked is: why did it happen and how did it happen? I always put myself in the mother’s place—entrusting my child to the kindergarten so I can go to work reassured, able to perform my job and achieve the required productivity. But this incident has shaken all mothers, as well as kindergartens that care for children.”

She pointed out that the perpetrator is certainly suffering from particular—especially psychological—disorders that drive him to commit such “heinous” acts. This, she stressed, is not a justification for the offender but an analysis of the mentality of those who assault children. The crime, she affirmed, will have dangerous repercussions for the child and for society as a whole.

Samia Latif emphasized that the crime must be followed up by the Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood, and the Elderly, as well as the Ministries of Education, Interior, Health, and Culture, in order to understand its causes and put an end to it.