SHARJAH // Sex offenders should be rehabilitated once they have been released from prison, a sexual abuse workshop has heard.
Parents have also been tasked with building trust and ensuring an open and honest dialogue with their children, so they are more capable of reporting sexual abuse without fear. And experts called for children to be taught how to identify predators and their practices.
“Sexual assault can be as simple as a touch. Parents should be aware of this and teach their children what is an appropriate touch and what is not from an early age, and according to the child’s comprehension,” said Aida Hashim, a therapist and psychology consultant at Sharjah Social Services department.
“Children should be taught not to trust strangers or familiar faces, including family members, as many cases are from close circles of family friends.”
She was speaking during a workshop on sexual abuse last week at Sharjah Social Services department, which coincided with International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.
During the event, Ms Hashim questioned why child sex offenders do not receive treatment once they are released from prison.
“Sexual offenders older than 18 should be given counselling sessions, where experts can rehabilitate them and reintroduce them to the community and to build healthy relationships with others.”
Convicted sex offenders are prohibited by law from working with children.
As a precautionary measure, Ms Hashim also said that parents and children should have a secret word or phrase that will help identify if a person is genuine or not.
“Let them memorise a funny word or a phrase so that if someone approaches them at school or outside the home requesting to take them to their parents, to not respond to their requests if he doesn’t say the secret word,” she said.
Others at the workshop believe that children should be taught about sexual predators at school.
Adel Jamal Mohammed, a legal researcher at the Child and Woman Protection department at Dubai Police, said schools have a role to play in alerting children to what constitutes molestation.
“Schools should have experts to teach the children on how to identify sexual predators and how to be aware of their surroundings, and teach the children to report any inappropriate behaviour to their parents or school staff,” the researcher said.
Naema Khamis, a social worker, said sexual predators can even be children their own age.
“We have seen many cases of molestation and sexual assault from schoolchildren towards each other — boys molest other boys, and girls preying on girls,” she said.
A lot of cases go unreported due to social stigma, traditions and culture, she added.
“There is a lot of cases of sexual abuse inside the family; parents do not believe their children when they inform them that a relative has molested them. Others sweep it under the rug for fear of shame from the community and blemishing the family name,” said the Emirati.
tzriqat@thenational.ae