Child helpline gets 555 calls for help

sharjah — As many as 555 calls to report child abuse and child trafficking cases have been made to the child helpline during the last eight months in Sharjah.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Ibrahim Al Tartoor, director of the child rights protection section at Sharjah Social Service Department, said that the calls included 109 child victims of family disputes, 54 complaints pertaining to school issues, 53 complaints involving legal issues, 24 complaints about homeless children, 12 complaints regarding mental issues and 11 complaints about physical health.

The main issue that affects the children is lack of documentation that enables them to have their education rights.

The reasons cited for this issue is lack of stability in the famil — as several fathers were found to be drugs addicts or one of the parents in jail — and above all negligence. Added to this is families living in illegal status who cannot enroll children in schools for lack of documents.

He urged the authorities to offer the children right to education as they are not responsible of their plight. Al Tartoor noted that the child protection law has already come to affect starting June 15.

The law obliges parents to have proper documents for their children which would guarantee them all the rights of a human being.

He said that the helpline has also received 330 complains about physical, verbal and sexual abuse against the children.

He added that parents reach out to the helpline to complain against each other due to marital disputes which involve their children. He warned that involving children in a marital dispute will affect their future socially and psychologically. Regarding the response to complaints, Al Tartoor said that they take up an issue as soon as they receive the call.

They investigate the case and coordinate with other concerned departments to solve the issue and help the child. The child helpline is one of the important services provided by the Sharjah Social Service Department to ensure protection for children.

The service also includes care for the abandoned children and a meeting place for disputing parents, to allow them to meet their children.