Man beats 16-year-old daughter over Snapchat use in Dubai

Dubai - The father denied his daughter's allegations and said that he found a number of smartphones in her possession.

A 16-year-old girl was assaulted by her father over her use of Snapchat. "Four years ago, her parents had a divorce and since then, she was not allowed to talk to her mother, who left the UAE. However, the girl opened a Snapchat account and sent her pictures to her mother and other friends. When the father came to know this, he beat the girl up and stopped her from using social media."
Brig Al Murr said the police received a letter from her school principal, who noticed signs of assault on the girl. When the school authorities summoned the father and questioned him about the incident, he said he beat the daughter as she misused social media. After police intervention, the father agreed to allow her to talk to her mother, he said.
Lt-Col Saeed Rashid Al Haili, director of the department of child and women's protection at the department, said that the father denied his daughter's allegations and said that he found a number of smartphones in her possession. He claimed that he satisfied every requirement of his daughter but she acted upon incitement from her mother and uncle.
The father punished his daughter by preventing her from going to school this year, said Lt-Col Al Haili, adding that the human rights department had referred the case to public prosecution.
Legal protection
Legal advisor Murtada Majed said that in the recent years, children facing cases of neglect or ill treatment from their guardians have seen a rise in the UAE. "Some parents show arrogance in dealing with their children without thinking of finding solution to the psychological problem of the children. They should evaluate the child's behaviour and stay away from negative reaction to prevent disastrous consequences on the kids," he said.
"Some parents leave the children in an unsafe place and neglect them for long hours because of their busy life schedule, leading to a risk of injury or death. We see a lot of tragic incidents that occur because of negligence from parents, which is legally punishable act," said Majed.
Deal with adolescent children carefully
The police receive several complaints about fathers who react aggressively to their children as a reaction to their misuse of social media, said Brigadier Dr Mohammed Al Murr, director of the general department for human rights at the Dubai Police,, noting that in most of the cases, divorce and marital problems are the reasons of the children's act.
He urged parents to be careful when dealing with adolescent children. Ill treatment from parents may lead the children to take revenge on them by doing wrong things, he warned.
Lt-Col Al Haili said that social media has led to marital differences in many cases and even to divorce. He also pointed out instances where couples divorced over their partner's refusal to share social media passwords.
"In certain situations, the parents use their children and stop paying their expenses to pressure the partner. This will have a very harmful impact on the psychological condition of the children," he warned.
amira@khaleejtimes.com 

• Dubai