The Anti-Vagrancy Department at the Ministry of Social Development took a 17-year-old girl into custody after she was coerced by her father to panhandle near a traffic light in Amman.
According to a ministry statement issued on Thursday, the father was found to have 22 criminal records after an investigation.
The girl told the investigators that she wanted to continue her studies but that her father forced her to practice begging on the streets. He also reportedly stayed close to her to keep an eye on her while she was begging, according to the statement.
The ministry said the girl was taken to a rehabilitation and care center, where she receives behavior therapy as well as several curricular and extracurricular activities.
The statement stated that this girl, like many others, is exploited for vagrancy and urged people not to sympathize with beggars in order to put a stop to this negative social phenomenon.
Source: Jordan News Agency