The Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWAC) has received 229 cases of domestic violence during the first half of this year, including 222 external cases and 7 sheltered internal cases, as confirmed by Afra Al Basti, Director-General of DFWAC, who said that the number of cases received by the institution during this period increased by up to 50% compared to the same period last year, during which the Foundation received 155 cases including 141 external cases and 14 sheltered cases.
"This increase is due to the higher level of awareness among members of the community, as they became more aware of the importance to get help from the concerned authorities if they were abused, as a result of outreach efforts made by DFWAC and all those involved bodies" she added.
"DFWAC is gaining every day the trust of more members of the community, especially in its ability to help them in a scientific and professional way, also offering the best services in a context that ensures their privacy, which is clearly reflected in the increasing number of cases that we receive every year," she said.
Al Basti said that the cases of external cases of domestic violence victims received by DFWAC during the first half of this year ranged in age from 18 to 60 years, and accounted for 53% of the total external cases for all groups during the same period.
She added that the majority of the victims were females, and 33% of them were Emirati Nationals. Husbands and ex-husbands were mainly responsible for the violence.
According to the Director-General of DFWAC, 96% of these cases involved emotional/verbal abuse, 72% neglect and deprivation, 53% involved financial abuse, and 23% some form of sexual abuse.
"Cases are directed to DFWAC through self-admission, calling the hotline, or from our partners such as public prosecution, courts, various departments and sections of the police, embassies and consulates, other shelters and other help-lines in other emirates," she added.
"A comprehensive evaluation is made for each case and then is accepted either as an external or internal case that requires immediate shelter at the foundation, after which a case manager is allocated to follow all the procedures and then take the history of the abuse suffered by the case, and put a support plan for the case to be implemented and evaluated periodically," Al Basti said.
The Director-General also said that the foundation provides many services to victims of human trafficking, such as the helpline 800 111, emergency shelter, supporting services, and it also provides a customised rehabilitation plan for all problems and cases which are divided to external and internal or sheltered cases.