Though I am sympathetic to young people of both sexes, I nonetheless add my voice to those asking that a severe punishment be meted out to the young men who harassed the two girls on a public street in Riyadh.

I know there are people who will try to justify the young men’s actions, but the incident must be seen as a dangerous indication that something is seriously wrong. The men must be severely — and publicly — punished so that they become an example to all.

I think that one reason for this most unfortunate incident may be that the authorities are often too lenient on such offenders. I will not ask why the two girls did not report the crime to authorities. I know very well that a woman will not report such things to the authorities because, even if she has been attacked, society will consider her a criminal. Sadly, girls in our country who are attacked and abused do not even know where to go or who to complain to.

It is very difficult to find out the number of women who have been harassed or molested since this kind of crime is never talked about or discussed. This particular crime is of the utmost seriousness because it took place in a public place where the girls had every right to be. They were attacked by the young men who filmed the incident and distributed the video clip to a large number of people.

What the young men did is not only a serious violation of the girls’ rights and a criminal act but it is also an attack on society as a whole. The offenders must be punished severely by having their names and pictures published in all the Kingdom’s newspapers; perhaps that will deter others from such behavior.

I hope that sociologists and educators will also suggest ways in which we can fight such trends. It seems that we need to review the relationship between our young people and society. We cannot allow our girls to be put in situations where they cannot defend themselves.