Tough penalties for child abuse
The final version of Wadeema’s Law calls for a heavy fine and long jail term for childcare workers caught with indecent material, Ramola Talwar Badam reports
DUBAI // People entrusted with child care who create or distribute child pornography face at least 10 years in jail and fines of up to Dh1 million, the final version of the Child Protection Law stipulates. Informally named Wadeema’s Law – in memory of an eightyear-old Emirati girl tortured to death by her father and his girlfriend – the legislation covers abuse and criminal negligence of children. It took effect on June 15 this year.
The legislation included 75 articles that cover new provisions not addressed by other laws, said Jassim Al Hosni, the first judge of appeals at Dubai Courts.
He said the law specified that offenders could not claim ignorance of their victim’s age as their defence.
The law prohibits production, distribution, display and possession of photos of a child depicted in an indecent position, whether real or simulated. Communications companies and network service providers must notify the authorities if child pornography is circulated online and provide information on the individuals involved or sites circulating such material.
Failure to do so risks a minimum jail term of six months and fines of between Dh100,000 and Dh1m.
If people entrusted with child care were found to have taken part in producing or filming pornographic material, they could be imprisoned for at least 10 years.
Possession of child pornography could lead to a year in jail and a minimum fine of Dh100,000. Using the internet to distribute such material risks similar sanctions. The new law prohibits torturing or harming a child, with offenders facing fines of at least Dh50,000.
Parents or guardians could be fined more than Dh5,000 for failing to register a child at birth, not enrolling them in school and for abandoning them.
It also ensures that people convicted of sexual assault or child pornography cannot be employed in jobs where there is contact with children.
The Ministry of Social Affairs will keep a confidential register of people involved in child mistreatment cases that can only be accessed with consent from the court or public prosecutors. As a consequence of the new law, employers need to conduct thorough background checks on their staff, according to legal experts.
“They will be liable and will have the liability of a higher sentence if they do not report any offence against children,” said Hassan Elhais, a lawyer at Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultancy. He urged companies to hold regular educational and awareness sessions for employees.“School bus companies welcomed the new law. “This sort of stringent law is very important when we look at staff members who manage a large number of students,” said M L Augustine, managing director of the School Transport Services, Dubai’s largest operator of school buses, which serves about 45,000 pupils. The company conducts background checks on job applicants by contacting their former employers and the police in their home country. The Roads and Transport Authority or the Department of Transport then conducts a check for criminal offences before issuing a licence to drive school buses.
Relatives, carers, healthcare workers, teachers or officials who do not offer assistance to child victims of abuse and fail to notify authorities about such cases could be fined up to Dh50,000.
The new law also states that a person convicted of child sexual assault may not live within a 5-kilometre radius of the victim’s home.
Convicts of child sexual assaults can only be released depending on the outcome of a psychological test.
If the public’s safety cannot be guaranteed, the law stipulates that offenders must be housed in an asylum after they complete their sentence, said Mr Al Hosni.
The Child Protection Law took effect on June 15 this year