Some of them are exposed to hypothetical cases of harassment via “Social Media”

Specialists: Neglect and family disintegration expose children to sexual abuse

• During the "Child Safety Forum 2021" organized by the "Child Safety Department" of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah.

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Child protection specialists confirmed that neglect, disintegration and family disputes are major reasons for children's exposure to verbal and physical sexual abuse, and psychological and social diseases.

They explained during their participation in the "Child Safety Forum 2021", organized by the Child Safety Department of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, at the Al Jawaher Center for Events and Conferences, yesterday, under the slogan "We Preserve Their Innocence", that children are subjected to sexual abuse, whether real or virtual. Through social media, aggressors resort to threatening children and luring them to harass and blackmail them, which negatively affects the child's perceptions, stressing that most of the reports and complaints received by the competent authorities are related to sexual assaults on children submitted by families, schools and medical staff.

The Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, stated that the Sharjah Police General Command has specialized teams from the female component in the Department of Social Support, to deal with cases of child abuse, in coordination with the Child Safety Department, as reports are received and the author is reached, both from Children or by their parents, and respond to him confidentially without asking him about his name or personal data.

He explained that "the case is dealt with through social support, and if a dead end is reached to solve the problem, it is referred to the Public Prosecution to take the necessary measures," stressing that the couple's preoccupation, family disintegration and repeated disagreements lead to social problems.

He stated that "the delay of some families in submitting a report about the sexual abuse suffered by the child, may lead to a delay in revealing some signs and weak evidence," pointing out that "Sharjah Police implement awareness lectures in public and private schools for children at various stages by specialists, to teach Children say (no) to anyone who touches their bodies or harasss them verbally or physically, as it is one of the main factors to reduce harassment and educate children about the dangers of abuse.”

For his part, the Chief Prosecutor of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, Al-Amer Karama Al-Amiri, stated that “one of the types of abuse that children are subjected to is threats, lures, and anesthesia, which affects their perception, and sexual blackmail, whether by practice or by physical or verbal harassment,” noting that virtual harassment Through social media, it targets children through images and audio.

He explained that “the constitution and the law talked about the protection, safety and honor of the child, and that the law stipulated domestic violence and highlighted sexual violence, and that the younger the victim’s age, the more severe the punishment. The law also criminalized storing, examining and downloading pornographic material from websites related to children, with imprisonment for a period of 10 years. A fine of one million dirhams.

He added that "doctors, teachers, and social workers sit with the child more than he sits with his parents, and therefore they are more aware of the sexual abuse that occurs to him, as the doctor examines the child's body legally and medically, and if he notices that the child has been subjected to sexual abuse and abuse, he has the initiative to inform the competent authorities in a manner Immediately, as the law obliges them to inform the competent authorities and not to evade the matter and leave it to others, because it is the nature of their work.”

He explained that "some of them refuse to report so that their interests are not delayed in going to the police and the prosecution, so they must write what they saw and heard from the child in a letter to the Department of Social Support, where the message will be considered confidential and the whistleblower's data will not be finally disclosed."

The Director of the Department of Social Services in Sharjah, Ahmed Al-Mail, stated that the detection of cases of sexual abuse of children from the beginning is a family consultation, and it is necessary to analyze the caller’s data and to proactively ensure that the child has been subjected to sexual abuse, adding that “social services employees have the capacity of seizure.” The judicial authority that enables them to rescue the child immediately upon receiving the communication, so as not to increase the danger to him, and after 24 hours have passed since his rescue, the Public Prosecution’s permission is issued, and the author of the communication is not obligated to mention his name or personal data, and it is sufficient to submit the report and the situation in which the child was exposed.”

He explained that “most of the reports come from three categories: (the family, the medical staff, and the school), where the specialized team verifies the reports and deals with the victim children, to provide them with psychological and social treatment,” noting that family neglect is one of the biggest factors that lead to exposure Children for sexual assault.

He stated that "the department provides monthly aid to families who have lost their breadwinner and provides preventive programs to reduce children's exposure to danger, especially in the event the father is in prison, or because of divorce between spouses, where children are made aware of the importance of saying (no) to anyone who harasss them." .

Senior Public Prosecutor, Director of Family and Child Prosecution at the Sharjah Public Prosecution, Dr. Walid Khalid Al Hammadi, confirmed that neglect and family disintegration are among the causes of children being subjected to sexual abuse, adding that “one of the reasons for perpetrators harassing children is the absence of religious scruples, moral perversion and family disintegration,” explaining that “Parents leaving their children with strangers is one of the reasons they are subjected to harassment, and that the role of the Public Prosecution Office is in cooperation with the police in case the forensic doctor requests to reveal the victim child, where the child’s testimony is taken through electronic visual communication without the need for him to be present at the Public Prosecution building.”

Counseling and quality of life expert at the Child Protection Unit in the Ministry of Education, Moza Al-Shoumy, said, "The ministry is in the process of launching a curriculum called (self-advocate) as an alternative to sexual education, to be taught to children's students by specialists through classroom activities, through which they learn to defend Self-preservation and physical, psychological and social safety,” following up that “the ministry has a form on the website through which the student can submit his report on the abuse he is exposed to.”

Jawaher Al Qasimi: The family is the compass of the development process

The wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, President of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, stressed that "since the launch of the development process of the Emirate of Sharjah, the family has been the compass that leads efforts to provide the best community services."

Her Highness said: "The child has always been the core of our programs and initiatives that enhance his talent, develop his thought and culture, and above all protect his dignity and protect his rights. Childhood is an innocent world overflowing with imagination and feelings, and it is a delicate stage of human life in which the personality of the individual is formed."

Her Highness added in a recorded speech: "His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, is keen on making Sharjah a safe environment and a safe haven for children, to express their personality and build their interests and aspirations. His white, compassionate hands have never stopped facilitating all Challenges, to ensure the provision of initiatives that preserve the child’s intellectual, physical and psychological safety.” Her Highness explained that “the initiative is an approach that we have taken to be fully prepared to address everything that affects the safety and security of the child in society. And their hobbies, and everything that catches their attention in the real environment or in the virtual world.We rely on the outcomes of this forum in raising societal awareness and defining the responsibilities that fall on everyone, whether an individual or an institution, to be the ideal reference for everything related to child security and protection from various forms of violations and abuse at the local and regional levels.

• 3 groups in society that reveal child abuse, and deal with complaints in complete secrecy.

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