Mentally-handicapped are main abuse victims

Mentally-challenged persons are main victims of molestation in the UAE given their inability to recognize such criminal acts and the fact that they are mingling more with the other community members, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs.

What aggravates the problem is a tendency by the society not to believe handicapped people and the reluctance of families to report such acts against their children to escape embarrassment, a Ministry official was quoted on Thursday as saying.

“Studies have shown that the handicapped persons, mainly those who are mentally-challenged, are more vulnerable to molestation and other crimes…we believe that the more these persons are integrated into the society, the more protection measures are needed,” said Wafa bin Suleiman, head of the handicapped rehabilitations section.

“The Ministry of Social Affairs is now seeking to take such measures to allow those persons to defend themselves by enabling them to recognize abuse and other bad acts against them since molesters usually exploit those people’s inability to realize such acts,” she told the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum.

Wafa also blamed the local community for what she described as the widespread phenomenon of molestation of the handicapped, saying:”the problem is that the society members do not believe the retarded person nor do they try to understand what these persons are trying to say…this is encouraging the molesters.”

She also accused families of contributing to such a problem by their failure to report molestation acts against their handicapped children.

“Unfortunately, most families do not report abuse cause against their handicapped children, especially sexual molestation, as they consider such acts as a shame…the Ministry is trying to change this attitude by educating families and relatives about the importance of reporting any case involving abuse of their children.”

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