The Ministry of Community Development revealed that coming up with accurate statistics on the former people's harm, or those currently at risk of abuse, and the implementation of pre-emptive preventive plans that prevent them from being harmed in the future, is one of the most important objectives of implementing the policy of protecting people of determination that was approved by the Council of Ministers last December.
The ministry asserted during a press conference held yesterday to present the details of the policy, the absence of accurate data with the relevant authorities on cases of abuse that affect the owners of anxiety, especially those with intellectual disabilities who constitute the group most vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, given their inability to express clearly, and their inability to distinguish The act of abuse and its size and impact on them.
The ministry announced that the number of people registered in the Determination Card reached 24,000 people, 60% of whom are citizens, and the number of federal, local and private government centers for the care and rehabilitation of people of determination is about 95 centers nationwide, the number of employees is about 2,400 people.
The Ministry stated that reports indicate that emotional or psychological abuse resulting from reprimand and verbal abuse is one of the most common types of abuse to be subjected to determination, compared to the other three types of abuse that include physical, sexual and financial abuse. She said that she will work to implement the policy through clear tools and mechanisms to ensure the implementation of its three axes, which consist of prevention of abuse and early detection, interference and rehabilitation of cases that have been harmed, stressing that the policy will work to reach a regulatory and legislative system in the Emirates that protects people of determination from forms of abuse, through Provide clear mechanisms to protect them from harm and enable them to overcome it.
She stated that work will be done through coordination mechanisms that guarantee the establishment of units in the relevant authorities, in order to report cases of abuse to which people of determination may be subjected, and to access a database of people of determination subjected to abuse depending on their type.
The Assistant Undersecretary for Social Welfare Affairs Nasser Ismail stressed that the policy represents a clear framework for how to implement measures to protect people of determination from four types of abuse, including physical, emotional, sexual and financial abuse.
He explained that the implementation of training and qualification programs within the 20 policy implementation initiatives is a pivotal element in ensuring the achievement of prevention from the harm that people of determination may be exposed to.
He added that awareness-raising and training will be directed to all persons and job crews in all the bodies and institutions concerned with the protection of people of determination, including their families, as each of these functional and societal groups will be directed by a message and a training program that touches its location and its relationship with those of determination as well as its role in protecting it from harm.
In response to a question about the type of penalties that will affect the entities and people who are proven to be responsible for acts of abuse and harm to those of determination, the Director General of Happiness in the Ministry of Interior, Brigadier Nasser Khadim Al-Kaabi, stressed that the Criminal Procedures Law looks at cases of abuse and abuse according to each case, stressing that the policy aims to focus To prevent and reduce the number of cases of abuse, especially for cases of intellectual disability.
Al-Kaabi added that both the Federal Law No. 29 of 2006 regarding the rights of “People of Determination” and Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 regarding the Law of the Rights of the Child “Wadima” represent legislative accomplishments that represent a legal reference for dealing with cases of abuse to which people of determination suffer. Individuals and children who live in families and societies are protected by clear laws.
For his part, the Director of the Policy Department at the Ministry of Interior, Major Dr. Saeed Salem Al-Shamsi, explained that the role of the Ministry of Interior is to ensure proper handling of the reports it receives about cases of abuse, by organizing the internal legal frameworks that guarantee taking the required procedures to deal with these cases, and qualifying The cadres that deal with these communications to be able to deal with the different types of disabilities and understand the privacy of each and carry out how to understand the language of the people of determination in the transfer of information, each according to its expressive capabilities related to the type of disability it has.
Al Shamsi stressed that there are partnerships between all government and private agencies to work to ensure the application of policies that ensure the achievement of social cohesion and stability, such as the family protection policy and the policy to protect the rights of children, as well as the policy of protecting people of concern because this category needs special care and care.
He continued that the ministry will transfer the communications from one side to another, according to the type of case and the communication, and the authority concerned with dealing with the state of abuse, pointing out that dealing with people of determination needs specific skills and competencies.
For her part, Wafa Hamad Bin Sulaiman, director of the Department of Welfare and Rehabilitation of People of Determination in the Ministry of Community Development, affirmed that the policy will work to reach a legislative system that protects people of determination from forms of abuse in the Emirates, and enabling them to overcome them.
She said that people of determination may be exposed to more than one form of abuse at one time, explaining that emotional abuse, which represents the highest percentage of cases of abuse, includes hurting a person’s feelings and sense of himself, and influencing his psychological construction, through rejection, isolation, neglect, and exploitation, Intimidation, verbal abuse and deprivation. The types of financial or material abuse were presented to include theft, fraud, exploitation or coercion, in relation to financial affairs or arrangements for a person of determination.
Bin Sulaiman stressed that people of determination may be exposed to all or all forms of abuse deliberately or as a result of neglect or ignorance and lack of insight, and that a person may be exposed to more than one form of abuse at one time.
Bin Sulaiman enumerated the initiatives that the Ministry intends to implement under the umbrella of the new policy, which includes developing and implementing legislations and policies related to the rights and protection of people of determination, providing a hotline, family empowerment and protection from abuse, strengthening prevention services, training and empowering people of determination, and training providers and services, Train relevant stakeholders, self-advocacy groups, and provide a database of abused and abused people of determination.
Define abuse
Abuse is defined according to what the policy of protecting people of determination from abuse indicated, as: “Any behavior, act or failure to react leads to a violation of the rights of the person who is subjected to abuse, his freedom, his physical and mental integrity, his dignity or his public interest, whether Intentionally or through negligence, including sexual relations or financial transactions that he did not approve or was unable to consent to, or were carried out through intentional exploitation, and fall under that failure to receive appropriate or inadequate care or programs, and abuse may take many forms », Policy indicated
Four forms of abuse are: physical, sexual, emotional, material or financial abuse.
“Protecting People of Determination” aims to reduce the number of cases of abuse, especially against intellectual disabilities.
24
One thousand people: the number of those registered in the People of Determination card, 60% of whom are citizens.
95
A center in the country for the care and rehabilitation of people of determination who employ 2,400 people.
Early detection of abuse
The application of the "Early Detection of Abuse" axis includes access to clear tools for reporting and revealing forms of abuse, so that people of determination, their relatives, and workers can use them, and provide a monitoring system for service providers to ensure early detection of cases of abuse suffered by people of determination in various institutions and facilities. As well as providing mechanisms for reporting abuse, providing protection for people of determination upon detection of abuse, follow-up and monitoring mechanisms for service providers for people of determination, protecting girls and women of concern, training cadres working with people of determination, and coordinating with local bodies to provide and integrate various services.
As for the “intervention and rehabilitation” axis, it aims to provide rehabilitation programs for abused people of determination to mitigate the effects of short and long-term abuse, unify the mechanisms of intervention and rehabilitation by service providers in various rehabilitation institutions and centers, and provide community resources to support those who have been subjected to abuse in the context of exchanging experiences . The theme also included designing plans for the rehabilitation of the abused, and the formation of self-support groups.