Dubai: In the absence of a child protection law, numerous child abuse cases go unreported in the UAE, experts fear.
About four years ago, a seven-year-old boy, an Arab national, walked into his school with a broken arm.
It did not take the teachers long to connect the dots. They knew the boy was being physically abused at home on a regular basis.
Higher school authorities were informed, who then confronted the parents and asked them to speak about the incident, before informing the police. Within no time, the parent changed the ward's school.
"That is the last thing the school knows about the family.
"Many such cases escape the authorities due to the absence of a law to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse," Ruba Tabari, an educational psychologist at Dubai Community Health Centre, who was consulted on the case by the school, said.
"The school genuinely tried to help the boy but ended up feeling helpless since there is no legislation".
Despite the government drafting a Child Rights Law in December 2008, it has yet to be enacted.
Even the police need a direction to go with in such cases so that they are able to pursue them in a better manner.
"It should be well-defined as to who will be responsible for the safety and care of the child if he/she is not safe at the hands of their legal guardians," Tabari said.
Speaking at a forum titled "Child Protection in the UAE" — organised by the Dubai School of Government recently — she noted that many times such cases go unidentified due to a lack of understanding and standards that define abuse.
Unsupervised areas
"At school, it is the unsupervised areas such as the bathrooms, empty corners of playgrounds where children are most susceptible to abuse," she said, highlighting the importance of supervision.
Last year, a primary school pupil was raped by an older school boy on a bus. "Such cases are not uncommon. Thankfully now the Roads and Transport Authority has introduced rules that have made supervision mandatory on buses," she added.
Physical abuse often leaves obvious signs such as bruises and marks but it is the emotional abuse and neglect that are the hardest to detect, Tabari said.
"Those who harm children are very secretive and highly-skilled at hiding their crimes and scaring children to not speaking out. That's why the law is important."
Becoming isolated, withdrawn, depressed, with a difference in performance, a change in sleeping pattern and an aggressive behaviour are some of the signs to look out for.
Over her two decades of experience, Tabari said she has dealt cases ranging from corporal punishments by teachers and parents to sexual abuse by relatives.
Girl, 9, tortured by father, stepmother
Dubai: The plight of a 9-year-old girl allegedly tortured by her father and stepmother, which came to light in 2009, deeply shocked all layers of the UAE society.
The case was unveiled after the girl was taken to the hospital by the parents under the pretence that she fell off her bicycle. The child had burns, knife cuts and bruises all over her body.
They also hit her head against the wall, causing 80 per cent physical disability. Alarmed by what they saw, the hospital authorities informed the police.
The parents were both arrested and tried after which they were handed down a 10-year jail sentence and a Dh160,000 compensation by the Abu Dhabi criminal court.
The sentence was later reduced to seven years. In September 2010, the case was ordered for a retrial since the parents were tried without a lawyer. The case is still sub-judice.
"My son had taken his daughter to live with him four years ago and ever since she kept complaining against continuous abuse. I saw burns on her thighs very close to her genitals," the girl's grandmother had told the court in 2009.
General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and his daughter Shaikha Shamma, had visited the critically-ill victim in the hospital and called for measures to prevent such incidents from being repeated.
Have your say
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