Parental authority to refuse acute burn treatment versus the protection our children deserve

Our society has empowered parents to care for their children and take legally binding decisions on their behalf. One of the areas where such decision making is required is in medical care when a child's health is at stake. Three cases of child abuse and neglect were identified and reported. Literature searches were done to identify cases of child abuse in Kuwait using Medline and PubMed. News of child abuse was searched for using search engines (bbc.co.uk, cnn.com, and foxnews.com). The British Child Protection Act and the Kuwaiti Criminal Prosecution Code were studied. Child abuse and neglect exist in Kuwait and are probably underreported. The laws in Kuwait are designed to punish child abuse once it has occurred rather than aiming at preventing it. It is reported that 75% of those responsible for child abuse are the parents. They retain full authority to restrict medical access. Medical staff are offered very limited support and are restricted as to what they can achieve due to the Kuwaiti legal infrastructure, which should be amended so as to protect children rather than prosecute offenders. A local authority has to be established and empowered to investigate, report, and act when suspicions of child abuse arise.