Monday, Dec 05, 2016

Sharjah: The second phase of the child safety campaign organised by the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) reached 31,486 people, including 12,674 students, the SCFA announced on Monday.

The campaign organised 291 awareness programmes in schools and institutions in Sharjah and the central and eastern regions, including 223 workshops, 34 lectures, 12 radio programmes, four children’s movies and six seminars.

The issue was also addressed during five Friday sermons in mosques.

Hanadi Saleh Al Yafei, director of SCFA, said that the campaign focused mainly on students with 235 activities that targeted first, second, and third grade levels, as well as kindergarten and nursery students.

“Thousands of people benefited from the events, which were attended by 18,384 parents, 12,674 students, 137 people with disabilities, 143 teaching staff and 148 physical education instructors. The total beneficiaries of the campaign were 31,486 people,” Al Yafei said.

According to Al Yafei, the organising committee used a number of awareness methods, including a booklet titled ‘I Know My Rights’, which explains to children the procedures to be followed in case they are subject to any type of abuse, in addition to a whistle, a notebook and other writing material.

The campaign also distributed the book ‘How to Protect My Child from Abuse’ to all parents and specialists who attended the workshops and events.

“A brief awareness video for children on how to react to child abuse was also produced, which airs daily on Sharjah TV,” Al Yafei said.

The campaign was carried out following the directives of Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, Wife of the Ruler of Sharjah and chairperson of SCFA.

The second phase of the campaign focused on raising awareness of all members of society to protect children from any form of abuse. It promoted the respect and privacy of children’s bodies, protection against abuse, enhancing social and communication skills and the role of institutions and organisations in achieving child safety and security.

Before launching the campaign, the organising committee conducted a preliminary survey on 6,126 students, to measure their awareness about the different types of abuse. Based on those results, a study was prepared to guide the campaign’s progress and methods.

The results of the initial survey showed that the overall awareness rate about abuse reached 73.2 per cent, with a higher rate among female students (64.7 per cent) than male students (32.8 per cent). The awareness rate increased by 18 per cent at the end of the campaign to reach 90.5 per cent among female students and 75 per cent among male students.

“The campaign was successful in activating protection programmes designed for children and contributed to promoting all child protection hotlines across the UAE. The results also revealed some cases where children had suffered abuse; these were directed to the respective authorities for appropriate treatment and therapy,” she said.

Staff Report

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