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The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, will launch an initiative tomorrow under the title: “Identifying and responding to child abuse cases.” The Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center and the Child Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs will carry out this initiative at the Abu Dhabi Police Officers’ Club.
The initiative is a corporate model for strategic partnership; it targets teachers and 250 nursery supervisors across the country to teach them to how to identify and report violence and cases of mistreatment that nursery school-aged children may experience.
Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, said: “This initiative is in line with the efforts of the Ministry of Interior to cooperate with partners from different governmental entities and institutions, in order to protect children.”
The Secretary General stressed cooperation with concerned institutions to improve protection and prevention for society members in general, and children in particular. He said: “The Ministry of Interior aims to achieve the UAE Vision to become one of the best countries in the world in security and safety with regard to the general population and children especially. These efforts are in line with the vision of Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, to make the UAE a humanitarian hub and a center of excellence in all areas of child protection.
“The new awareness projects and initiatives related to child protection, which have been carried out by the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center this year, reflect the common goals we all work to achieve. The joint efforts are essential to realizing the higher commandment’s vision and achieving sustainable family security and stability in the country. The society’s security and safety is a top priority for police institutions,” he added.
Major General Al Nuaimi said: “The initiative focuses on training aspects. It provides basic explanations on issues related to child protection and prevention against abuse and neglect, in order to enhance safety and security of all children in the United Arab Emirates, whether residents or visitors.”
He added: “After finishing the training program, qualified participants will be responsible for collaborations regarding child protection in their respective nurseries and schools. The first stage of training will be provided for free for representatives of early childhood centers and nurseries.”
The Secretary General said that the interactive three-day-per-week training courses, which will be held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays starting from September 23, will cover different topics. These topics will tackle how to understand the kinds of child protection and neglects; child protection; legal aspects; victim support; detection of abuse and mistreatment; risk identification; and damage reporting.
For his part, Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Mohammed Al Shammari, Director of the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center, commended the mutual cooperation with the Child Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs to carry out the initiative in 375 early childhood centers and nurseries across the UAE. “In the first stage, we will train one representative from each nursery,” he explained.
He stressed the interest of the Secretary General and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Child Protection at the ministry for different projects and initiatives related to child protection. He also highlighted the importance of building capabilities and gaining expertise to enhance social efforts for child protection against all kinds of risks.
Lieutenant Colonel Al Shammari said: “This initiative reflects the practical efforts made by the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center to achieve the visions of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. It also comes under the instructions of the Secretary General and Chairman of the Higher Committee on Child Protection to integrate and join efforts to develop collaborative programs that enhance and improve child protection and prevention against dangers.”
He added: “The program’s content was prepared and developed based only on the capacities of the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center that aim to enhance protection, educate, guide, prepare, and implement social and media awareness campaigns and programs to spread the child protection culture and social and family awareness.”
For her part, Moza Salem Al Shoomi, Director of the Child Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and member of Ministry of Interior’s Higher Committee for Child Protection, welcomed the cooperation and mutual organization with the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center to carry out the initiative. She said: “This initiative comes under the strategic partnership with the Ministry of Interior and realizes the strategic goal of the Ministry of Social Affairs to guarantee social rights and empower social integration.”
She added: “This initiative will train and qualify 250 nursery supervisors across the country on how to identify and report cases of violence that children may face. It also aims to implement the clauses of the International Convention on Child Protection, Article No. 3.
The initiative raises awareness among supervisors that work with children regarding cases of violence against children. Supervisors will learn how to identify cases of violence against children that are under five years of age. Most studies indicate that the majority of violated children under five are unable to express their situation, and they are unaware of what happened to them; their unusual behavior should help qualified people who work with children to notice any changes and investigate in case of any suspicions. Most incidents and injuries of children under five are caused by family neglect or family violence.”
Ms. Al Shoomi stated: “It is very important to work systematically to identify violence against children of this age category. We have to qualify employees at nurseries and put them through training workshops. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center for the support and for their efforts to sponsor this initiative that serves society, especially children who represent a category that receive great attention from our wise government.” She also praised the visions of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior as well as the efforts of Secretary General and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Child Protection at the Ministry of Interior.
She said: “This initiative will continue over the next years. It will train 250 supervisors in 2013. All nurseries are obliged as a minimum requirement to put their supervisors through training on how to identify violence against children.”
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