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Abu Dhabi Move to Help Victims
of Domestic Violence

ABU DHABI - A centre for providing health, psychological and legal assistance to victims of domestic violence will be established in Abu Dhabi.

The instructions for setting up the centre in coordination with the Family Development Foundation (FDF) were issued by Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs in his capacity as Chairman of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD).

The centre is to act as a shelter for children and women who suffer domestic violence threatening their life or physical and psychological safety. The move is part of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department’s (ADJD) vision to create an environment that ensures women and children get an easier access to their rights enshrined in the state constitution and the enforcement of legislations protecting basic principles of
human rights.

The creation of the centre, the first of its kind in the country, will constitute a qualitative addition to efforts being made by Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairperson of the FDF, to provide care and protection for women and children from all forms of violence including those they incur within the family. The centre will offer health and psychological care to victims of domestic violence as well as legal counseling to help them prosecute their abusers.

The centre will conduct awareness campaigns to educate women and children about their rights and how to defend them. The victims will also get a platform for exchanging experiences and expertise so as to draw lessons from them in order to build their capacity in confronting the problems. The centre will tap the know-how, database and knowledge of various civil society organisations taking care of family and social welfare to identify the magnitude of the problem in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The centre will establish a mechanism to identify lapses in the procedures and systems which could discourage victims from reporting acts of violence against them to the concerned authorities.

A proper, safe channel of communication will be in place to allow abused women and children to lodge complaints about risks they face within the family. The establishment of the centre is a practical embodiment of ADJD’s strategy which seeks to ensure that justice is not only administered inside courts but also through addressing and tackling social issues which could be a source of violence and crime.