UAE: Workshops teach children as young as 3 how to fight abuse

Children in the UAE are being educated about their rights and duties, and how to identify, report and protect themselves from abuse through awareness workshops being organised by the Ministry of Community Development.

The workshops, being held in collaboration with the libraries of Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, are part of the ministry’s awareness initiatives about "Wadeema" Child Rights Federal Law and the programme "I Do Not Accept".

The "No Accept" programme, which targets children aged 3 to 10 years, focuses on teaching children how not to accept abuse and what they can resort to if they are exposed to abuse using innovative methods of communication.

The programme uses an electronic system in which a variety of questions are asked to benefit from the children’s feedbacks and information and at the same time correct misconceptions among children.

This year's workshops also focus on several topics, most notably: child family rights, health rights, educational rights, cultural rights, protection, child duties on others, and contact numbers with relevant authorities in any case of abuse.

The Ministry said it was very keen to disseminate the culture of children's rights in the community by linking awareness workshops to the child rights law "Wadeema" and its executive regulations to promote awareness and create positive societal attitudes and behaviours towards child rights at various levels such as: entities, family and community members.

These workshops adopt key pillars aimed at clarifying the measures to protect the child rights and the appropriate ways of implementing them, introducing the responsibilities of all authorities that are applying child rights law, and clarifying the early intervention methods to reduce risk factors and their impact on the child and his/her family.

"Wadeema" Child Rights Law stipulates several basic provisions including all regulations pertaining the child rights such as: the right of the child to life, welfare, expenditure and healthcare services, the involvement of the child in various programmes and activities that enhance his personality and enable him gain the needed skills to overcome all concerns and challenges, the prohibition of all forms of violence in educational institutions and protection of children from exploitation or abuse.

The law also included child protection rights by establishing child protection units in coordination with the competent authorities based on the applicable regulations and laws.

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