Child protection is the responsibility for all in a community

Earlier this week, some friends and I were in a philosophical discussion about how, when and why it might be justified to interfere in the private affairs of a family we didn’t know. If we knew that they were engaged in wrongdoing, should we tell the authorities? If a child or a pet was being mistreated, should we talk to the family, knowing that we might bluntly be told that it was none of our business?

The matter isn't one of a simple yes or no. Merely disapproving of someone’s behaviour is very different from knowing that they may be breaking the law. It depends on the issue, and other factors must also be considered.

At one time or another, all of us may have observed the law being broken and we may have done nothing about it. In which case, we could all be law-breakers to some extent, though our infractions may be restricted to minor matters like occasionally breaking the speed limit. We don’t expect to be pulled up over such matters, and nor would we draw the attention of the authorities to similar infractions by others. If we did so, we would probably be told not to waste their time, anyway, while the view that something we may observe is "none of our business" is a powerful argument for doing nothing.

There are, however, occasions when it is right to report misbehaviour, especially if it goes beyond a mere minor misdemeanour. Reporting a hit-and-run car accident, for example, is the logical thing to do. The same would apply if one noticed a burglary underway. That’s just a matter of common sense and common decency one should display, as a responsible member of any community.

The same surely applies when the protection of vulnerable people is at stake. It was an incident of that kind that prompted the philosophical discussion a few days ago.

A friend was explaining events that had recently taken place in the compound in which she and her family live. An estranged father had come to visit his young daughter to discover that her mother had been assaulting her. Enraged, the father called the police, who came promptly. The mother was taken away for questioning; the father left with his daughter, who now lives with him.

My friend told me that while she herself had no idea that the daughter was being abused, she had discovered that some other neighbours were aware of this, although not privy to all details. They had apparently decided not to take any action, not even talking to the mother, because of a reluctance to get involved in the affairs of another family. They felt it was a private matter. Regrettable, sad, but not their business.

My teenage daughter, on the other hand, who overheard the conversation, was apoplectic with rage at the mother, insisting that the protection of a child being abused was, most definitely, a justification for intervening. She would, she said, have confronted the mother immediately, and would have contacted the police. She was scathing in her criticism of those who knew, and did nothing. I am rather pleased with my daughter's approach.

In the UAE, we have clear legislation on child abuse, with bodies like the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood and Abu Dhabi’s Early Childhood Authority working to promote the protection of our children. There is always scope, though, for more awareness and for more implementation of the laws. Occasions like Emirati Children's Day this week, for example, give impetus to the need to protect children from online exploitation.

In this regard, I was delighted to see that an important step has just been taken in terms of enforcement, with the swearing in of 127 "child protection specialists" at the Judicial Department. They now have the authority of judicial officers, empowered to take action to deal with violations of the 2016 Child Protection Act.

The objective of the training programme, developed by the Early Childhood Authority and the Abu Dhabi Judicial Academy, is to equip people working in a variety of sectors, including health, education, security and social affairs, to recognise and take action on child abuse.

There are many ways in which incidents of abuse are discovered. A teacher may notice something – a child who is unnaturally quiet or who comes to school with visible bruises. In hospitals, children may be brought in for treatment for unexplained injuries. Even in malls, one can sometimes see an adult mistreating a child, whether verbally or physically, to an unusual extent. These are areas where some of these newly-qualified judicial officers may work, and where they can take action.

Let us hope that they will be successful in their work. But even such thorough engagement by professionally-trained people cannot identify every single case of a child at risk. Relatives, neighbours and passers-by do have a responsibility. If we are to build a truly caring society, we will at times need to set aside our natural disinclination to intervene in the private lives of others. I would have no qualms about doing so to try to protect a child against abuse.