Global Arab Network | UAE.. Zero tolerance for child abuse

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UAE.. Zero tolerance for child abuse

Global Arab Network - - Maha Karim

Tuesday, 28 April 2009 12:28

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court is right to award long prison sentences to the father and step-mother of a nine-year-old girl for child abuse, a UAE daily paper commented. ''The girl was subjected to burns, knife cuts and beatings. Relatives were infuriated when the father justified his actions claiming he wanted to save his daughter from sin. Both the accused will now spend 10 years in jail for their crime, and also have to pay Dh160,000 in compensation, according to editorial published today in the Gulf News.
''The substantial sentence is a legal landmark that strengthens the UAE's position that domestic violence will be punished severely. Until now the social importance of a family home's privacy had a significant impact on legal judgments over a whole range of crimes, including marital rape and abuse of servants.

''This case received considerably more public interest than it might otherwise have got thanks to General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, visiting the girl at Mafraq hospital, accompanied by his daughter Shaikha Shamma.

''Shaikh Mohammad's subsequent call to people urging them to take a stand against child abuse has given a significant social message that such crimes should not be accepted or covered up out of embarrassment, the Gulf News concluded.

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