Dubai Police Attend To 103 Cases Of Child Abuse And Negligence

DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 10th Aug, 2021) The Women and Children Protection Department at Dubai Police has successfully handled 103 cases of abuse against children who were deprived of their human rights either by family members or outsiders.

Major General Dr Mohammad Abdullah Al Murr, Director of the General Department of Human Rights, stated that Dubai Police has set a policy to regulate the roles of all departments and police stations in protecting children in Dubai, as per the Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 concerning child rights, also known as Wadeema's Law.

"All children must be provided with appropriate living standards, access to health services, education, equal opportunities in essential services and facilities without any kind of discrimination. The UAE law protects children against all forms of negligence, exploitation, physical and psychological abuses," Maj. Gen. Al Murr stressed.

He further confirmed that the policy of the Dubai Police has been developed to set objectives and assign tasks to each entity throughout three main phases of children abuse cases: The Prevention Phase (before receiving report), the Protection Phase (during report), and the Support and Care Phase (post report).

Major Dr. Ali Muhammad Al Matroushi, Director of the Child and Women Protection at the General Department of Human Rights, said the Dubai Police is keen to establish partnerships aimed at ensuring coherent and integrated workflow that serves children’s interest, preserve their rights and protect them against abusers and exploiters. He further explained that Dubai Police has launched several campaigns and programmes year-round aimed at raising awareness about children rights.

Maj. Al Matroushi clarified that violating children's education rights is the top concern among the cases. Assault is second and physical abuse comes third.

Maitha Mohammed Al Balushi, Head of Child Protection Section at the Women and Children Protection Department, said that the cases, which were brought to the attention of Dubai Police last year, included 23 children who were physically abused, 20 were ill-treated, 17 were deprived of identity documents, 14 were deprived of their educational rights, nine were assaulted, nine were neglected, eight were abandoned and left unsupervised, and three were not given the medical attention they needed. She further explained that 54 of the cases involved children between the ages of 11-18, 39 were between 0-5, 13 were between 6-10.

Al Balushi pointed out that children in 60 cases were abused or harmed by their fathers, 16 by their mothers, 14 by someone known to the victim, six by outsiders, four by children themselves, and three at the school. The section has handled all cases with extreme delicacy while prioritising children’s welfare, she added.

Therefore, some of the cases were settled by committing concerned parties to legal pledges which slap repeat offenders with criminal charges.

"We handle and legally process cases on a case-by-case basis, depending on the particulars of each case. Some are settled by legal pledges, others are forwarded to either the Dubai Public Prosecution or the General Department of Criminal Investigation, and some are handed over to the concerned external entities," Al Balushi explained.

Meanwhile, Fatima Al Beloushi, Head of the Awareness Section at the Women and Children’s Department of Dubai Police, said, "The force is keen on enhancing its awareness-raising role on children rights, per "Wadeema" law, and ensuring that people who are directly involved in children’s welfare, such as parents and educational institutions, are enlightened and aware of the Law to preserve and protect children’s rights."

She pointed out the ‘Safety Ambassadors’ Programme, which was launched by Dubai Police to support children and protect them against any harm or violence, has remarkably contributed to raising awareness on the importance of protecting children.

"The Programme has successfully trained 1,090 students from 109 public and private schools to become ‘Safety Ambassadors’ and raise security awareness among their peers, report incidents of bullying and abuse, educate fellow students about their rights and what to do if they are bullied or face violence, negligence or abuse," Al Beloushi added.

"Through its initiative "My Home, My Safety", the ‘Safety Ambassadors’ Programme also delivered awareness messages and published eight videos that are viewed by thousands of people," "It also organised 35 virtual workshops for 3,348 students of public and private schools, and translated ‘Wadeema’s Law’ and Safety Ambassadors works to sign language" she continued.

The head of the Awareness Section added that the programme engaged its Safety Ambassadors in raising public awareness by delivering 11 awareness lectures to 7,574 beneficiaries.