Child-abuse awareness campaign held in Dubai

Dubai: Child-abuse prevention messages aimed to educate children on how to act when faced with abuse and violence were spread in the form of colouring books and puppet shows during the ‘Children’s Caravan’ held on Thursday.

The two-day event is part of the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children’s (DFWAC) Child Protection Campaign which aims to educate parents and empower the public to take action against child abuse.

It is estimated that 1.5 billion children are subjected to violence annually, with 86 per cent of children (two out of three) being subjected to some form or physical or emotional harm.

In order to raise awareness, the carnival’s activities offered colouring books, story-telling and awareness role plays with shared messages such as “If someone hurts you and you don’t tell, don’t listen to them. Keep telling until someone believes you” and “When someone tries to hurt you it is okay to say, ‘no’”.

“Through such initiatives, we are raising awareness about the various forms of child abuse and more importantly empowering people within our community on how to prevent, protect and manage abuse cases,” said Afra Al Basti, general manager of DFWAC.

Samar Ebrahim, an Egyptian mother of two, was happy with the message that the campaign is spreading. “More awareness about this issue should be raised in order to motivate policy makers to take action against offenders.”

“I am with the idea as long as they do not cross the line and open our children’s eyes to things that they are too young for such as sexual information that they should not be exposed to as young children,” said Emirati Yousef Omran.

The event, which will be held from April 25 to 26, 2013 in Mirdif City Centre coincides with the National Child Abuse Prevention Month and was under the theme ‘Protect Childhood, It’s Precious’.

Ghaya Al Habtoor DFWAC spokesperson told Gulf News that the carnival is not the only event that is taking place to raise awareness about the issue.

“We also have educational workshops at schools and different institutions to educate both children and adults,” she said.