His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah has issued Law No. 6 of 2020, regarding the social care in the emirate of Sharjah.

The law aims to provide protection to those deprived of social care, and encourage families to support them, to ensure their natural integration in the community.

The law stipulates establishing the “Permanent Committee of Individuals Deprived of Social Care”, where the Sharjah Executive Council is to establish the committee and name its chair and members, and assign the duties and compensations of the committee members.

As per the new law, the committee specialisations are to include setting the general policies of social care in the emirate of Sharjah, classifications of individuals deprived of social care, defining the procedures dealing with these individuals, ensuring the rights of these individuals, and assigning foster families or entities that would take care of these individuals.

As per the new law, the categories of the individuals deprived of social care are: children with unknown parents, children of a known mother but unproven father, children with no guardian of caretaker, children deprived of the care of their guardian of caretaker due to having one of the following reasons:

a- Mental, physical, psychological, terminal, or contagious illnesses.

b- Lack or loss of capacity

c- Addiction to drugs and narcotics

d- Abandonment

e- Imprisonment

f- Domestic disputes

In addition to children who receive any kind of abuse and any other categories that the committee chooses to include.

As per the law, the abuse includes physical, sexual, psychological, and commercial abuse, in addition to neglect, electronic extortion, and bullying.

The law stipulates that those who find, or have leads to, any individual deprived of social care, are to report them to the police of social services immediately to take the required legal procedures.