Parents fail to report child sex abuse to police for fear of shame

Dubai Dubai's Attorney General has called on parents to come forward and report anyone who molests their children immediately and not to neglect the matter.

Parents sometimes avoid reporting to the authorities about their children being molested because they fear disrepute and that their reputation might be damaged, according to Essam Eisa Al Humaidan.

"We noticed recently that parents fear defamation in such cases… they neglect their children's molestation and avoid reporting the [incident to] police so that the case doesn't reach the Public Prosecution.

"However parents should not do so… we constantly call on fathers or mothers to alert the authorities whenever a child is molested. In the past two years, we noticed a decline in such cases since a fine of Dh50,000 was imposed on those who flout the residency law [and] work for different sponsor. Most of the child molestation cases were being committed by illegal workers," Al Humaidan, who is Chairman of Dubai Judicial Institute (DJI), told the media yesterday.

His comments came on the sidelines of the International Forum of Family and Juveniles Prosecutions that was organised at DJI's headquarters in Dubai.

Amicable solutions

Al Humaidan said family cases have ‘unusual speciality' and Family and Juveniles Prosecution (FJP) in Dubai constantly resorted to amicable settlements in such cases. "Prosecutors often tend to resolve family cases amicably because it is a judicious and peaceful thing to do. Resorting to the regular legal procedures sometimes complicate a family case and make it difficult. FJP launched a special reconciliation programme called [Al Solhu Khayr] or Reconciliation is The Best Solution to settle family cases amicably," he added.

Senior Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Ali Rustom, FJP's Head, said the increase in the number of family crimes was the main reason behind initiating the FJP.

"The increase in crimes amongst families, the development of crimes committed by juveniles and the fact that there is a Dubai Family and Juvenile Court were the leading factors behind launching the FJP," said Rustom.

"We constantly tend to solve family cases amicably to avoid/save families from disintegration. However the two parties [members of the same family involved in a case] constantly show inflexibility in order to win as much gains in the Sharia Courts," he added.

Rustom further urged the authorities to quickly establish a special rehabilitation centre for delinquent juveniles in Dubai.

In terms of statistics, he said the FJP settles 50 per cent of family cases amicably. In 2010 FJP handled 348 family cases and 309 juvenile cases compared to 395 family cases and 312 juvenile cases in 2011.

‘Sensitive'

Meanwhile Chancellor Mohammad Rashid Al Danhani, Head of Abu Dhabi Family Prosecution, said during the Forum: "There was an increase in the number of drug consumption cases amongst juveniles in 2009. It also increased last year. Currently we are doing a thorough research on the best mean to combat that crime," he said.

"The reason behind launching Family Prosecution is to contain most family crimes and disputes before they develop into cases and are referred to court. Family cases are of sensitive nature which requires special management to maintain confidentiality."