Ministry hosts 57 awareness sessions to protect children
Preventive initiatives seek a balanced child upbringing to promote family stability
The Ministry of Community Development implemented since last year (2021) more than (57) educational seminars targeting more than (3,200) members of the community, including children, adolescents, parents and family protection specialists’ as part of the efforts to introduce laws, programmes and preventive initiatives to protect children, and educate families about the negative impact of drugs and prevention methods. The Ministry’s educational vision is based on the protection of children towards correct and balanced child upbringing in support of the ministry’s goals and objectives to promote family stability and their wellbeing.
Eman Hareb Al Falahi, Director of Social Protection Department at the Ministry of Community Development, revealed that in 2021, about (10) workshops were organised, benefiting (507) people in the field of disseminating the culture of child rights in the community. The ministry also implemented (4) specialised workshops within the Children Coordinators programme in sports and cultural clubs at the Special Olympics UAE in an effort to train (51) specialists to enhance child protection efforts at the clubs all over the UAE.
She said: “The Ministry strengthened its educational efforts by targeting more than (750) early childhood children with (4) workshops as part of “I Do Not Accept” preventive awareness programme to protect children and train them not to accept abuse through appropriate methods. The Ministry also organised (20) workshops to increase the awareness of families about the negative impact of drugs and ways to prevent them targeting approximately (1,225) people in addition to (6) other educational workshops entitled “Together towards a domestic violence-free environment” bringing together (450) people in collaboration with MSF’S regional office.
During the first quarter of 2022, the Ministry organised more than (13) educational workshops targeting more than (200) people from different categories in the community. On the occasion of Emirati Children’s Day, a workshop was held as part of “I do not accept” preventive awareness programme to protect children and train them not to accept abuse by appropriate methods and introduce them to the Child Right Law. Organised in Abu Dhabi Libraries and supervised by Abu Dhabi Department of Tourism & Culture, the workshops were atended by (52) children. About (6) workshops were also held to educate families about the impact of drugs and ways to prevent them at Customers’ Happiness Centers in Umm Al Quwain, Ajman, Sharjah, Al Fujairah, Dibba Al Fujairah and Bani Yas bringing together (445) people. Other awareness workshops about Child Rights Law were carried out targeting (77) parents and staff in a number of schools while other awareness sessions about the Child Rights Law targeted municipality officials all over the UAE for (28) participants.
Eman Hareb Al Falahi, stressed that the Ministry is very keen to disseminate the culture of child rights in the community through organising several awareness workshops about the Child Rights Law “Wadeema” and its executive by-laws in order to promote awareness of the law and its regulations, create positive societal atitudes and behaviour towards child rights at multiple levels: entities, family and local community. She also noted that these workshops focused on key themes aimed at clarifying measures to protect child rights and appropriate implementation methods, introducing the responsibilities of the entities that are applying child rights law and identifying early intervention methods to reduce risk factors and their impact on child and family.
The Ministry focuses its efforts to support child protection coordinators in sports clubs affiliated by UAE Football Association Special Olympics UAE with the aim of supporting children who may be exposed to abuse while engaging in sports activities, working to solve their problems in cooperation with all Child Protection Units as stipulated in federal law No. (3) of 2016 on Child Rights Law “Wadeema” and relevant childhood authorities to create a safe and stimulating environment and help them appropriately. The law explained the mechanisms of coordinators’ duties and tasks in these clubs, the methods they will be following, assessment methods of possible abuse cases against the child and used reports to document these cases.
To complete this process, the ministry continues this year to train more than 120 coordinators in the UAE Football Association and Special Olympics UAE as part of the child protection coordinators programme.