Launching of the “1412” call centre & the “Ahan” mobile application to report violence against children

Malé, 12 July 2017 – The Ministry of Gender and Family and Maldives Police Service in partnership with UNICEF Maldives has launched the “1412” toll-free, call centre and the “Ahan” mobile application to report cases of violence against children at a ceremony held this morning in Iskandhar Koshi.  The two services jointly launched by the Minister of Gender and Family Hon. Zenysha Zaki, and the UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, Ms. Jean Gough will enable timely reporting of cases of violence against children in the geographically dispersed island communities with limited access to services. The event was attended by senior officials of the government, Maldives Police Service, UNICEF Maldives, and other partners working in the area of violence against children.

In her opening remarks, Hon. Zenysha Zaki noted that “cases of child abuse are reported to the Ministry of Gender and Family every month, and about 500 such cases have been recorded in the first 6 months of this year already. Cases reported include physical and sexual violence against children, neglect and bullying”. She emphasised that it is the duty of every individual to report without delay if they suspect or know if a  child is being abused.

The mobile application and the call centre which are both linked to the Maldives Child Protection Database (MCPD) enable quicker analysis and timely response to cases, in addition to easier access to reporting of cases of violence against children from remote islands in the country.  With easy access to mobile internet in the Maldives, the social media penetration is almost 83 per cent of the total population (Digital in 2017: Global Overview). 

Addressing the audience, the UNICEF Regional Director noted that, “the launch of the ‘1412’ Call Centre and ‘Ahan’ mobile application therefore opens up avenues for timely reporting of all forms of abuse on children. UNICEF, at Regional level and Global level recognise these efforts, and is keen to learn from this initiative, and share the knowledge with other countries”. 
 
Both the call centre and mobile application connected via the Government Network of the Maldives allow the Ministry of Gender and Family, Maldives Police Service and the Juvenile Justice Unit of the Ministry of Home Affairs and other partners to jointly access details of the reports and work together on investigating and addressing cases of violence against children.  The information from both the services would be centrally captured, analysed and used for timely response and action, thus enabling the social workers to respond to cases in a timely manner. The design of the system allows public members who report cases of abuse, to receive timely progress reports through the Maldives Police Service, on cases which fall under the purview of the institution.

Pointing out the correlation between domestic violence and child abuse, the Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Ahmed Azleen stated that if there is violence against women, especially mothers, there is bound to be violence against children. “It is important that we take this seriously, and that be able to have the calibre to report to this number – 1412, on a real-time basis”, emphasised the Minister of Home affairs.

One of the main concerns for the country is the high number of cases of violence against children and hence it is important to address it in a timely manner as the cost of inaction has a very negative impact on the children, not only immediately but even in the long run. It is important to note that there is a close link between children who get into crimes and child abuse. To support the Government of Maldives in its efforts to end violence against children, UNICEF remains a steadfast partner, and would strive to learn from the successes, challenges and globally share the lessons learned from these new and innovative ways of addressing violence against children in the Maldives.