Ministry floats books to fight abuse of special kids

The Ministry of Community Development (MOCD) has issued comic books that target children with disabilities to broaden their knowledge and enhance their empowerment and self-confidence to deal with situations of abuse they may encounter in their daily lives.

The comics include a collection of photos which reflect real situations that can happen to disabled children, such situations may also threaten them physically, sexually or emotionally.

These stories are designed to educate children through simple ways of locating threats, how to deal with and report them.

Commenting on the initiative, Wafa Hamad Bin Sulaiman, Director of Welfare and Rehabilitation of People of Determination Department at MOCD, said that there is a training programme that will be presented by the department for all social workers and psychologists staff in centres for people with disabilities.

The programme, she noted, will train the staff on the mechanisms of presenting these comics to children, discussing and interacting with them the possible abuse scenarios they may be imposed to.

The comics will also allow the specialists to identify any forms of abuse that may occur to children through their emotional expression symbolised with cartoon characters in the comic books. The department will also tailor individual therapeutic programmes for abused children to help them overcome their long-term psychological and emotional impact and reintegrate them in the community life with other individuals.

The stories include 15 ideas in different environments such as home, school, club, which highlights interactions with multiple people like the driver, maid, grocery owner, care provider generally.