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After two child abuse cases that shocked the nation, Dubai centre fighting to keep kids safe

Dubai Centre gets its fair share of child abuse cases
Dubai Centre gets its fair share of child abuse cases

Child abuse comes in many forms, and since the Community Development Authority’s child protection centre opened in Dubai in 2012, staff have experienced cases from across the spectrum.

More than 60 incidents have been reported to the Dubai government facility since the beginning of 2013, with at least a third involving sexual abuse.

The need for child protection resources was highlighted by two recent cases that caused shockwaves across the UAE. Wadeema, an eight-year-old girl from Dubai, was tortured and murdered by her father in 2012, while four-year-old Mariam from Abu Dhabi was starved and tortured to death last year by her mother, who placed her in a garbage bin for prolonged periods.

The centre is working to prevent similar cases and become the first line of defence against future child abuse, from physical attacks to those who are simply being denied schooling.

The CDA said that although child abuse in the emirate cannot be described as a trend, it is taken very seriously because of its cruelty and its devastating impact.

“Our key message is that we have zero tolerance towards child abuse in Dubai,” said Ahmad Al Muhairi, CEO of social services at the Community Development Authority (CDA). “It is not the quantity that matters, but rather the cruelty of the act,” he added.

In January, the Federal National Council approved comprehensive nationwide legislation for the protection of children, including a clause that allows social workers to remove children who are in imminent danger from their parents. The child rights law is currently pending final approval by the UAE president. The Dubai centre has dealt with 61 cases since the beginning of 2013, of which 49 were child abuse and 12 were negligence cases. Of the abuse cases, 25 were classed as sexual abuse, 17 as physical abuse and seven as mental abuse cases.

The authority did not reveal details on the total number of children involved, but said some cases involved more than one child.

Among the incidents they dealt with was the case of three Emirati sisters who were physically and verbally abused by their mother. The mother claimed she was under enormous stress as her husband was not pulling his weight at home, which caused her to lose her temper. The three girls, along with their mother, were put on a rehabilitation programme to help them manage the family crisis.

Child abuse statistics
Child abuse statistics

At one point the girls were given 15 counselling sessions a week. In another case, the centre was notified about a seven-year-old Emirati boy who was not reporting to school. Investigations revealed that the father was behind the negligence, so the centre worked with the family and school to help the child return to education. The child has now been reporting to school for more than four consecutive weeks.

“We want to make sure children are not living in abusive environment or becoming abusers themselves. We want to help families,” said Al Muhairi.

Four social workers are on duty at the centre, a villa in Al Barsha designed as a family home. It consists of six living rooms with TVs and toys. The social workers meet the children in these rooms to make them feel comfortable.

“Children find it much easier to speak to us than speaking to police officers at the police station,” said one social worker. Many of the cases are referred to the centre by police, with 32 referrals compared with 26 made directly to the centre’s child abuse hotline, which was set up last year.

“We are working to make the hotline and the centre the first point of contact for child abuse cases,” said Al Muhairi. “We urge people to call and report suspected cases. We have mechanisms in place to investigate each case.”

wafa.issa@7days.ae

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