50% of children at risk of falling prey to 'stranger danger'

A screengrab from the video of 'Your Child Your Responsibility'

Half of the children in the UAE are at risk of falling prey to strangers, according to a research conducted by the Child Safety Campaign (CSC).
The worrying report of the experiment carried out by the CSC in collaboration with the Community Police Department at Sharjah Police, presses the need for teaching parents the importance of supervising their children in public places and be able to recognise a potential threat in the most ordinary and non-threatening settings.
The 'Your Child Your Responsibility' social experiment at the play and food court of Sahara Centre, however, saw huge participation of children and parents.
The experiment was carried out by a group of volunteers including Hanadi Saleh Al Yafei, director at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) and CSC's organising committee; Nahla Hamdan, SCFA's head of Initiatives and activities; Hind Al Badwawi, psychological consultant; and actor Omar Al Rasheed. Over four hours, they tested 26 children including those with special needs from various age groups.
The campaign took permission from parents to film their children, explaining to them that they would try to lure their young ones and film their reactions. The team used several tricks and tactics to tempt children, including promising them to buy games, gifts and sweets. They also pretended to know their parents. The experiment resulted in successfully "luring away" 13 of the 26 participants. The other half refused to give into the strangers' demands.
"There is probably nothing that freaks out a parent more than the fear of their child being lured away by a stranger, which is why we conducted this experiment to raise parents' awareness about the need to constantly talk about 'stranger-danger' with their little ones," said Hanadi Saleh Al Yafei.
She continued: "During the experiment, we received different reactions from children regardless of their age or nationality. We found out that there are many parents and children who are fully aware about this topic but we are a bit concerned about the fact that others were so easily lured."
According to International Labour Organisation statistics, 1.2 million children are being trafficked at any given time worldwide. A subsidiary of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA), the CSC will circulate the results of the experiment to all childcare centres and institutions and broadcast the experiment's video on TV channels and social media platforms to raise awareness stranger danger and its grave consequences.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai