Dubai: Children whose parents are undergoing divorce in Dubai are suffering in silence and sometimes being victimised due to parental neglect, an official has said.
More than 300 cases of neglect and child abuse were reported in Dubai over the last three years, the majority of which involved children whose parents are divorced or are currently in the process of doing so, new data from the Community Development Authority (CDA) in Dubai shows.
From the last quarter of 2013 to April this year, cases involving neglected children topped the list of those reported to Dubai’s Child Protection Centre — at 36.59 per cent in 2014 and 26.67 per cent in 2015.
A total of 93 out of the 303 children were victims of negligence during the period.
Around 45 per cent of children have parents who are divorced or are divorcing.
Divorce rates are high in the UAE, with more than 12,000 cases recorded between 2011 and 2013.
“All of these cases are really based on problems within the family and this comes from both parents divorcing and one of the parents wanting to really harm the other party, whether husband or wife, and the children fall in between,” Khalid Al Kamda, CDA Director-General, said.
“The children become the victim of the problem between the parents. The whole family suffers. For us, our ultimate responsibility is the interests [of the children]. Any dispute between the divorced parents should not victimise the children.”
More than 50 per cent of the children were Emirati while children from other Arab nationalities followed. The majority of the cases were reported through the centre’s hotline (800-988).
Interestingly, one child called for help in 2014, with the figure going up to 10 in 2015.
Al Kamda shared the data to educate the public about the new Child Protection Law or Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 that took effect on June 15. The law ensures that every child in the UAE, whether they are a resident or tourist, has the right to live and be safe, be educated and be protected from neglect and all forms of abuse — whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or psychological.
Al Kamda said the negligence cases reported at the centre ranged from cases involving parents leaving children alone at home and unattended to, not allowing children to go to school or get medical treatment, and even include cases of malnutrition that is not related to poverty.
Al Kamda said parental neglect is very common on Dubai streets.
“If you go around Dubai’s streets and you start monitoring families, you would really see what we mean by negligence. Classic examples are a child in the front seat [of a moving car], a child in the lap of the driver... accidents that are reported [involving children] — these are pure negligence,” Al Kamda said.
Physical abuse cases followed those of negligence with 81 cases, although officials refused to talk about specific cases reported to the centre.
“The most common physical abuse reported is repetitive beating — [that is,] it’s not a one-time beating,” Al Kamda said.
The Child Protection Law, which was formerly named Wudeema Law in memory of Wudeema, an Emirati girl who was starved and tortured to death by her father and his girlfriend, prohibits parents or guardians from excessively disciplining a child. Any physical disciplining of a child that results in marks or injuries is not allowed.
Al Kamda said cultural differences play a role in this problem because spanking or beating is acceptable in some cultures while unacceptable in others.
“Where do we draw the line? I think if it is a repetitive abuse, then it is a problem. If it’s one time and one of the parents just lost his or her temper, it’s not really abuse.”
Psychological and sexual abuse involved 44 and 43 children respectively. Unlike the trend worldwide where perpetrators of sexual abuse are usually within the family, the perpetrators of sexual abuse cases in Dubai were from outside the family, such as parents’ friends or those caring for the child.
Al Kamda said the CDA will continue to work with social clubs, educational institutions and medical professionals to educate society on the need to protect children from any forms of abuse while ensuring that their rights are upheld.
He clarified that the centre will not start taking children away from their family at the first sign of conflict.
“The best environment for the child is still the family unless it’s clear that the child is at high risk, then we take the child and put him into his extended family. We’re not going to build shelters for children.”
Two more community centres that will also serve as Child Protection Centres are under construction — one in Dubai and another one in Hatta.
Al Kamda said the CDA also intervenes and helps juveniles who are at risk of becoming delinquents.
Five youth are currently detained for drugs, stealing and getting into fights. The CDA has a separate programme to rehabilitate them and reintroduce them back into society.
DATA HIGHLIGHTS:
303 cases in total from last quarter of 2013 to April 2016
Negligence: 93
Physical Abuse: 81
Psychological Abuse: 44
Sexual Abuse: 43
Rights Violations (not giving proper identification, education, etc): 42
Nationalities:
195 – UAE National
108 – Non-UAE National
Age-range:
Less than one year to 18 years old; majority of cases involved children from 7- to 9 years old.
Gender:
Boys: 157
Girls: 146
Methods of Reporting:
Child Protection Hotline: 131 cases
Email: 14 cases
Personal Attendance: 16
Others through: Internal transfer, Dubai Police, etc.
