ABU DHABI // A special body to protect children involved in legal proceedings and make the process less traumatic is to be set up.
The Child Rights Law, formerly known as Wadeema’s Law, will take effect on June 15, which has prompted the Government to set up a separate authority under family law prosecution to deal with cases of child abuse.
Social workers will, for the first time, be available at the newly established child affairs prosecution to offer assistance and investigate cases that involve those up to the age of 18.
They will deal with cases such as verbal insults and physical assaults on young children.
“Even people who witness a child being abused and fail to report it will be prosecuted,” said Alia Al Kaabi, head of family and child prosecution at Abu Dhabi judiciary.
Ms Al Kaabi said the directives of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, were instrumental in establishing the new body.
Its responsibilities would include “all forms of child abuse, whether physical, emotional or mental and whether intentionally or due the neglect of their parents, caregivers or those in their surroundings”.
Previously, such cases were dealt with at the family prosecution court.
While the new prosecution aimed to safeguard childrens’ rights, it will also hold accountable those who have committed offences under juvenile law.
Ms Al Kaabi said previously there “were no legal clauses that allowed us to criminalise and prosecute certain behaviours such as neglect” or laws that safeguarded the rights of children who had been physically abused by their parents.
Afra Al Basti, director general of Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, said social workers would be involved at the authority to encourage children to report abuse.
“Their work will complete and complement the work of family prosecution, but while family prosecution responsibility is towards the entire family, child affairs prosecution will focus on all the needs of the child.”
More important, Ms Al Basti said, was awareness.
“This is our responsibility and what we are all working towards awareness”.
There will be branches of child affairs prosecution in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region.
Former FNC member Dr Mona Al Bahar was a strong advocate of children’s rights legislation and pushed the council to pass a clause allowing specialists power to remove children from their homes if found to be in danger.
She said that the establishment of a child affairs prosecution body was an important and much-awaited development.
“We needed a specialised authority to deal with abuse and safeguard children’s rights.”
She believed it would help ensure a victim’s privacy.
“It is hard for a child to go to prosecution where other court proceedings for financial crimes or criminal crimes are taking place,” she said.
Such an authority, she said, would ease and speed the implementation of child protection laws. “Courts have many different responsibilities, but when you have a specialised prosecution with people who are only concerned and knowledgeable in child rights’ laws then you will see faster and more effective decisions,” she said.
The establishment of the body, was “a clear and positive indication that the UAE’s legal system is in constant development”.
Noura Al Suwaidi, director general of the General Women’s Union, said: “It’s emotionally difficult and distressing for a young child to go in front of judges and prosecutors in a large courtroom and inform them of the abuse they have been subject to.
“The child affairs prosecution will deal with these cases privately and separately in a manner that is not as distressing and intimidating for young children.”
salnuwais@thenational.ae