Medics in Sharjah learn how to help child abuse victims

Healthcare workers in Sharjah are undergoing training to help strengthen the support offered to child victims of violence and abuse.

Kanaf, a child protection centre that opened in the emirate last month, is responsible for the sessions, which aim to give medical staff the skills to help young patients open up about what they went through.

That will ensure measures are put in place to protect them.

The training has been divided into three stages, with the first designed to teach healthcare workers how to ask the right questions to help children discuss their experiences.

In some cases, the abuse may have been carried out by family members or people they know. Medics were told to use open-ended queries to encourage critical thinking, a practice known as the Socratic Method.

“Participants were introduced to the technique and were engaged in role-playing exercises involving a simulated interaction among a mother, a child and a doctor,” said Dr Bana Bouzaboon, mental health director at Kanaf.

“Socratic questions ... allow the child to use their thoughts, feelings and experiences in their responses.”

She led the presentation, held in partnership with Sharjah’s Child Safety Department.

“Socratic questioning steers away from the conventional when, what, who and why questions that may elicit rehearsed responses, potentially crafted by individuals involved in the incident to evade legal scrutiny,” Dr Bouzaboon said.

She offered the example of a child being admitted to hospital with a broken arm and being asked, “Who did this to you?”

“By reframing the question to something more openended – such as ‘Can you share with me about your day or what happened today?’ – encourages the child to express their own thoughts and feelings in their own words,” she said.

“This approach might lead to a more candid revelation, such as, ‘During lunch, I accidentally dropped the spoon, which upset my father, and then he hit me.’”

Fifty doctors, nurses and administrative staff from Al Qassimi Women’s and Children’s Hospital took part in the opening workshop, which also focused on counselling, guidance and recognising signs of child abuse. Participants were told about the importance of patience and were advised against putting pressure on a child to discuss cases of abuse.

The workshop also emphasised the importance of helping a child gain access to information, services and social support.

Dr Bouzaboon commended the hospital’s director, Safiya Alkhajeh, for her commitment to the initiative.

Ameena Al Refaei, director of Kanaf, said it was vital to tackle all forms of child abuse.

“Kanaf’s start has brought unprecedented co-operation across Sharjah, showing our commitment to human development and childhood care and contributing to the advancement of Sharjah and its society,” she said.

The training will continue this month, with healthcare staff to be taught how to write reports for child abuse cases sent to courts.

Kanaf deals with cases involving children up to the age of 18 and the centre’s staff includes mental health consultants and childcare specialists.

A team, including officials from the emirate’s police, prosecution, social services, education regulator, healthcare and child safety departments, works to ensure the welfare of children.

Last year, the centre launched a 300-hour training programme for psychologists, social workers and investigators in the emirate.

The initiative aimed to help authorities handle cases involving child victims of violence or sexual assault.

The National reported previously on an increase in the number of child abuse cases in Sharjah in 2022.

The Sharjah Child and Family Protection Centre said it handled 3,487 reports from families, schools and children.

The number of reported cases was 2,168 in 2021.

Fifty staff from Al Qassimi Women’s and Children’s Hospital took part in the opening workshop, which focused on counselling