ABU DHABI // The country’s first child protection law will finally be up for public discussion at this week’s Federal National Council session.
It has been more than a year since an eight-year-old girl, Wadeema, was tortured to death by her father and his girlfriend – a case that shocked the nation and inspired the landmark legislation.
Work is now progressing swiftly to get “Wadeema’s law” passed.
As soon as Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, ordered work to begin on the bill, the Government drafted a 72-article law that would establish unprecedented rights for all children in the country.
Once the bill was sent to the FNC and partially revealed for the first time, a number of unexpected clauses were noted, including giving powers to child-protection specialists to remove children from their homes if they believed the youngsters were in imminent danger.
The clause sparked debate, with some parents fearing they would lose the power to discipline their children, plus concerns about trespassing and invasion of privacy.
But FNC members remained firm. In less severe cases, child specialists can intervene by visiting regularly and providing social services.
Although the clause may still be changed at Wednesday’s debate, depending on the majority’s opinion, many members have said they would fight to see the law get through.
“It will be a huge debate because there are religious aspects, social-traditional aspects, human aspects,” said Dr Mona Al Bahar (Dubai), also a senior official at the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children. “There will be big argument about this law.”
The legislation covers criminal offences, traffic safety and protection regarding second-hand smoking. It also includes education, transport, health, food safety and protection from cyber crimes.
Crimes against children that were covered by other laws are now harsher. Children in the front seat of a car could have resulted in a parent or driver being fined – now they might face a possible prison sentence.
The law also tackles sexual abuse and exploitation. These crimes can lead to at least 10 years in jail.
No offender can be released unless they undergo psychological testing to ensure they are not a threat to society. They would never be able to work with children.
The FNC committee in charge of studying and amending the draft law said fines and jail time had been changed slightly but not much else had been altered.
Sultan Al Sammahi (Fujairah), who helped to compile the report for the committee, said the bill was already comprehensive after having had so many legislators and professionals work on it.
Most of the changes, he said, were made to the language and wording to ensure there was no room for misinterpretation.
The biggest changes proposed by the committee were to ensure that the law would also cover children at schools and nurseries. Both will be given new duties to protect youngsters under their care.
Vendors will have to ensure that children are not allowed in cafes where smoking is permitted, or can see films that are not age-appropriate at cinemas.
The bill has a few months to go before it is enacted, but nursery staff are already being trained to spot signs of abuse. The bill considers neglect and psychological pain as abuse.
Wadeema was found tortured and murdered. Her father and girlfriend were both sentenced to life in prison in October.
The law will consider a person a child until their 18th birthday.
The public debate this Wednesday will be held with the Minister of Social Affairs, Mariam Al Roumi.
osalem@thenational.ae
