Family Protection Policy
The Family Protection Policy aims to protect women, children, elderly and people of determination from abuse and exploitation by other family members. If you know of anyone being subjected to domestic violence, or if you are suffering from domestic violence, report it through these channels of Ministry of Community Development.
In 2019, the UAE launched the Family Protection Policy (PDF 2.34 MB) (file is in Arabic) which seeks to strengthen social ties in the UAE’s families and communities.
The policy defines family or domestic violence as any abuse, violence or threat committed by a family member against any other family member or individual exceeding his guardianship, jurisdiction, authority or responsibility, resulting in a physical or a psychological harm.
The policy mentions six forms of domestic violence. They are:
- physical abuse
- verbal abuse
- psychological/mental abuse
- sexual abuse
- economic/financial abuse
- negligence.
The Family Protection Policy caters to women, children, the elderly, and people of determination to protect them from any type of violence and abuse. It regulates the procedures and mechanisms of work in the institutions specialising in the field of handling people who survived domestic violence.
The policy is based on the following mechanisms:
- laws and regulations
- protection and intervention
- prevention and community awareness
- training of staff and increasing competencies
- studies, research and statistics.
A number of initiatives will be launched as part of the policy. They are:
- a unified database linking national-level institutions concerned with family protection
- introducing university disciplines in the field of family protection
- establishing a standardised system for reporting and receiving complaints at the national level
- building and implementing standards for primary prevention
- issuance of a law and a strategy for family protection.
If you come to know of domestic violence somewhere, or are suffering from domestic violence, report it through one of these channels on the website of the Ministry of Community Development.
Read
- Family Protection Guide 2022 (PDF, 16.3 MB)
- The UAE's National Family Policy
- Federal Decree No. 10 of 2019 Regarding Domestic Violence - (PDF- 2.59 MB) - Available in Arabic only
- Domestic violence- Ministry of Justice
