MoI and MoSA to launch initiative to bolster child protection in Dubai

The Ministry of the Interior (MoI) and the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) are tomorrow launching an initiative to identify assaults on children and the appropriate response process. The initiative will be promoted at a three-day event to be held at the Police Officers Club in Abu Dhabi. Targeting teachers and some 250 supervisors of nurseries across the UAE, the initiative is aimed at raising awareness of violence against children and will set a model for institutional partnerships, identify methods for identification of assaults, and set up a system for the reporting of violence against children at nurseries. Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary-General of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, said the initiative is part of the MoI's interest in furthering cooperation with its partners and government departments to boost the protection of children from risk. "Child protection enablers, projects and initiatives being implemented by the MoI this year represent common goals that we all work on achieving," Major General Al Nuaimi said, underlining the importance of making joint efforts to fulfil the vision of the country's top leadership for family security and stability. The initiative will focus on training and explaining the basic aspects of protecting children from abuse and negligence, as well as the legal aspects of supporting victims of abuse and the trainees will be responsible for coordination with the MoI on child protection and for reporting any risks to children at nurseries. The first phase of training will be free of charge for supervisors of nurseries. Lt. Colonel Faisal Al Shammari, Director of the Child Protection Center at the MoI, noted that 375 nurseries are taking part in the initiative. At this stage, one representative of each nursery will receive training, according to Al Shammari. Moza Salim Al Shumi, Director of the Department of Child Protection at MoSA, and member of the MoI's Higher Committee for Child Protection, said the new initiative is part of the ongoing efforts to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. She noted that most studies show that the majority of abused children are under the age of five years, who in most cases cannot speak for themselves. The initiative will continue for the long term, and all nursery schools in the country will have to have at least two supervisors trained in identifying violence against children, according to Ms. Al Shumi.