14 cases within a year... and the ages of the victims are between 4 and 13 years

5 preventive measures to prevent incidents of child molestation

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Legal, social and child protection specialists demanded the implementation of five effective preventive measures to reduce incidents of sexual harassment against children, proposing to activate a national plan in which all state institutions participate, to enhance sexual education and culture among children, educate parents about child protection guidelines, and hold them legally accountable immediately. The occurrence of harm and negligence, and encouraging the families of the victims to report accidents, and tightening the punishment on the perpetrators, in order to reduce this phenomenon in order to protect future generations. Proving that parents neglect their children legally requires them to be held accountable for the consequences suffered by the child, as a result of the parents’ failure to fulfill their legal duty towards their children.

"Emirates Today" monitored the occurrence of at least 14 cases of sexual harassment of children, which were revealed in the corridors of state courts during the past 12 months, as the merits of the cases indicated that most of the victims of abuse are children between the ages of four and 13 years, and that most of the accused are of nationalities They work in places close to the child's surroundings, such as building guards, security, servants, and drivers of school buses where there are no supervisors. There have also been incidents of harassment perpetrated by a group of victims' relatives.

The facts of sexual assault showed that the victims are often alone at the crime scene, as they become easy prey and prey for the harassers, as many accidents occurred while children were alone inside building elevators, school buses, public toilets, and while playing in the streets and alleys surrounding their place of residence, and in shops Grocery, shaving, etc.

The facts of the incidents indicate that the victims cannot resist the harassers, because of their young age and their inability to distinguish right from wrong, while parents discover later that their children have been harassed, through visible signs on their bodies, or by monitoring a change in the child’s psychological state, such as his injury panic and screaming during sleep, and some victims suffered from involuntary urination after being sexually harassed.

Some cases reveal that the harassers monitor the child when he is alone, where he is lured by deceptive methods, such as tempting him to try driving a vehicle or buying a toy. His crime, he asks the child not to report it to anyone, and sometimes reaches the threat, which leaves long psychological effects on the victims.

The Child Protection Center at the Ministry of Interior, in response to Emirates Today's inquiries, regarding the measures taken to confront the problem of sexual harassment of children, confirmed that it "follows up with interest all incidents that children are exposed to, including incidents of sexual harassment, and communicates with stakeholders and parents, and stresses the necessity of Punish the perpetrators with the most severe penalties prescribed by law.”

He stressed the need to redouble efforts to protect children from dangers that they may not realize due to their age. Therefore, proving that parents neglect their children or leave them unsupervised, legally requires them to be held accountable for the consequences to the child, as a result of parents not fulfilling their legal duty towards their children.

The center stressed that protecting children from all forms of danger is a priority and tops the attention of police agencies, stressing at the same time the importance of taking preventive societal measures to provide protection for children from incidents of harassment, including activating parental control over children, and not leaving them alone with strangers or on the roads. Educating children about the concept of harassment and how to act in the event of such situations.

The Center stated that child protection receives the attention of the state, as part of its vision to be one of the best safe and secure countries in the world and a pioneer in the field of child protection. The child’s life is at risk or neglect, in addition to the deterrent penalties included in the Penal Code.

The Ministry of Interior Child Protection Center called on families and the public to pay attention to protect and protect their children from the risks they may be exposed to, pointing out that the Ministry of Interior continues its efforts in the field of child protection, to increase public awareness about protecting and protecting children and their safety from the challenges and risks they face, through Enhancing family awareness among all segments of society because of the family’s significant and essential role as the first nucleus in society, as well as strengthening efforts to protect children from dangers and crimes of sexual exploitation targeting children via the Internet.

He called on parents to take the necessary precautions that help protect them from incidents of sexual harassment, follow up on their children and take care of them and not neglect them or leave them alone so that they are not exposed to such incidents, pointing out that the police and security authorities are constantly intensifying their efforts to enhance security and safety in various locations. .

Lawyer Ali Al-Mansoori stressed the importance of tightening penalties against child molesters, given that these incidents have serious psychological and social effects on children in the future, calling at the same time to launch a national campaign at the state level, in which all institutions participate to educate community members about this problem, and how to confront it and reduce it by taking measures preventive.

Al-Mansoori called on the parents not to hesitate to inform the police authorities immediately if they discover that one of their children has been sexually harassed, stressing at the same time their legal responsibility to provide a safe environment for the child, so as not to expose him to such incidents.

He cautioned that the child is without will in the face of the harasser, and according to Article 356 of the Federal Penal Code, whoever is convicted of an indecent assault, male or female, under the age of 14, shall be punished with temporary imprisonment from three to 15 years.

Article 354 stipulates that anyone who uses coercion in sexual intercourse with a female or sodomy with a male shall be punished by the death penalty, as coercion is considered existing if the victim was less than 14 years old at the time of the commission of the crime.

For his part, the head of the Emirates Child Protection Association, Faisal Muhammad Al-Shammari, called for the development of a well-studied national plan, in which all federal and local government agencies and civil society institutions in the country participate, with the aim of building a culture and sound sexual education, and educating children against sexual harassment, as well as educating parents about the danger of leaving their children alone with their peers or with older children, or with strangers, and the need to train their children to face the dangers of harassment, how to inform the family, how to act and report harassers, and what is the wrong touch.

Al-Shammari said that incidents of child harassment have been repeated during the recent period, as the facts of these incidents showed that the victims of harassment and sexual abuse may be newborn children, to advanced stages of adolescence, and often as a result of neglect or being left alone without supervision, which confirms the importance of taking effective measures to reduce these crimes.

He stressed the importance of discussing the dangers of leaving children unsupervised, as well as the dangers of allowing children to build a distorted sexual culture through pornographic sites and sources on the Internet, or as a result of communicating with dangerous people over the Internet, not to mention the need to build a sound sexual culture from reliable sources, and not leave the rope to the stranger. Neglecting children leads to harassment or abuse.

Psychological and social damage

Social and psychological specialists have warned of the seriousness of crimes of sexual harassment of children, and the psychological and social damage it causes to them, the effect of which is long-term, and the child loses his dignity and sense of safety, and often leads to distorting his spirit and transforming his behavior to become a destructive element in society, noting that the victim often needs To psychological care and rehabilitation, to enable him to overcome the accident he was exposed to.

They warned of the negative impact of children's use of social networking sites away from the family's control, as the criminal lures his victim, through one of the online group games sites.

They cautioned that global studies have proven that most perpetrators of rape have exposed themselves to watching pornography through films that are promoted for the purpose of excitement, which pushes them to more violence, and may have reached rape related to torture and murder in some cases, as this has become a feature of the perpetrators. .

9 sexual harassment cases this year

This year witnessed at least nine cases of sexual harassment of children, the most recent of which were two incidents this May, in which manifestations of terror, screaming during sleep, and involuntary urination, which appeared on a four-year-old girl, revealed that she had been subjected to a crime of indecent assault by her adult cousin. 15-year-old, during her stay in their house due to the presence of her mother in the hospital to give birth to her brother, where the accused was constantly watching pornographic films, which prompted him to try to commit it with his cousin.

In another case, red marks on the neck of an eight-year-old girl revealed that she had been subjected to coercion by a 43-year-old Asian driver while driving her to school.

Investigations by the Public Prosecution, which referred the accused to the Criminal Court, stated that the driver took advantage of his presence with her during her delivery, and took advantage of her inability to resist, and the absence of a third person with them to defend her, to harass her in various ways.

Tips to protect children from sexual harassment

Tell children that sensitive areas are forbidden to be touched or approached by anyone, and not to punish the child if he is told about it.

■ To maintain a safe distance between him and others, and this includes separating children in their beds when they reach the age of ten.

The child should not go anywhere with people he does not know, and not ride a car with a stranger or enter his home.

Teach the child that his body is his property, and no one may abuse him.

Surrounding the child with love, tenderness and emotional gratification;

So that he does not look for them at someone else, and be deceived by that.

■ Do not allow a child to go to public places alone, such as markets, amusement parks and restaurants.

Not to take anything from anyone he does not know, and not to talk to strangers or answer their questions without his parents' permission.

■Be careful to stay in groups, and walk in crowded streets.

■Parents should make sure that no one is alone with the child, especially servants and drivers.

■ Warn the child not to accept the invitation of the material and moral temptations presented to him.

The Ministry of the Interior: “Proving that parents neglect their children requires them to be legally accountable for the consequences of the child.”

Child Protection: “The need to redouble efforts to protect children from dangers that they may not realize because of their age.”

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