A critical evaluation on combating child sexual abuse and the limitations of international law: a case study of United Arab Emirates
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime. It consists of a variety of pernicious practices which \ninclude, but are not limited to, online child pornography, rape and incest. Globally, an \nestimated 15 million female adolescents have been coerced into sex during their lifetime, whilst the figure for boys is unknown.1 In many instances, this crime is perpetrated by those \nwho are closest to the victims. Child victims may be severely traumatised and as a result \nbecome dysfunctional members of society. Child sexual abuse harms the very fabric of \nsociety and society thus pays a heavy price for continuing to tolerate this crime. As such, as \nthis crime predominantly takes place behind closed doors and victims only very rarely report cases,2 a comprehensive legislative and policy approach must be adopted in order to \neffectively combat child sexual abuse. \n \nLegislators around the world as well as the international community must therefore make \ncombating child sexual abuse a priority. However, the question arises whether there exist \ndifficulties and weaknesses within international law which contribute to the persistent \nproblem of child sexual abuse. Accordingly, this research probes whether international law \naccords adequate protection to the rights of the children and, if not, whether it fails to \nadequately protect children from sexual abuse. For this purpose, a detailed examination of \nrelevant UAE laws is undertaken in the form of a case study. \n \nIt is argued that international law has failed to clearly establish norms and also lacks \nenforcement mechanisms. The main international instrument, the Convention on the Rights \nof the Child, fails to determine the age of the child. Instead, it empowers domestic law to do \nthis. Other shortcomings also limit the effectiveness of international law, particularly \nimplementation issues. In the context of the UAE, the fundamental problem is that cultural \nvalues entrenched in Islamic criminal and family law have not shown an understanding of the \nchild sexual abuse paradigm. Instead, the honour ideology has been reinforced.
Author: Ali Mohammed Al-Matrooshi
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2893679293