Stringent steps under way to reduce sexual harassment

The government has taken steps to address the issue of sexual harassment after an increase in the number of such cases in the Kingdom. The Shoura Council has finalized an anti-sexual harassment law that prescribes punishment for violators including jail terms and lashes. A recent report in a local newspaper confirmed that Saudis are responsible for 59 percent of all reported sexual harassment cases in the country.
The report said that out of the 2,779 sexual harassment cases that had been reported in one year, 1,669 involved Saudis. The report also confirmed that non-Saudis contributed to 39.9 percent of sexual harassment cases.
Riyadh had the biggest share of sexual harassment cases at 650. Jeddah reported 250 cases, the Eastern province saw 210 cases, Makkah had 180 cases and in Madinah, 170 cases were filed.
S. Ahmad, a Saudi teenager enrolled in a government school, said she witnessed many sexual harassment cases, mostly with taxi drivers and blamed foreigners for committing these crimes.
“I usually take a taxi every day to return to home after finishing my job. I found that Yemeni taxi drivers are highly prone to committing sexual harassment,” she said.
“Saudis sometimes try to flirt, but when they receive a negative reaction, they stop. However, I think most Saudis prefer harassing young women and expats, while foreigners harass everyone.”
Munirah Qinan, a Saudi director of a government school in Jeddah, said that most Yemeni or Saudi taxi drivers gather in front of the school to drop off young women.
“I always warn students’ parents not to let their daughters return home by taxi. Unfortunately, most these harassment cases are committed by Arabs, notably Saudis and Yemenis,” she said.
Cases involving foreigners are relatively few in comparison to cases involving Saudis despite rumors that harassment is rampant among foreigners.
Yemenis topped the list, with a total of 100 cases against women and 40 cases against children, said the report. Egyptians ranked second, with the court issuing judgments in 50 cases against Egyptians guilty of harassing women and 10 cases involving children.
Pakistanis ranked third, with 25 cases involving women and 23 cases with children.
Bangladeshis were involved in 39 cases, and Syrians in 37 cases. In addition, there are cases against Palestinians, Jordanians and Sudanese violators.
Dima M., a 22-year-old Syrian girl, was sexual harassed by an Indian guard when she was 12.
“My family used to send a meal to the guard every day. I would play at the building entrance with my brothers in front of the guard for many years. One day, in Ramadan, I went to the guard to give him his meal before Maghrib prayer. When he took the meal he tried to hug me. I immediately pushed him away and escaped,” she said.
Dima told her story to her mother after many years.