Six cases of harassment come to court every day

JEDDAH: The negative attitudes of society in dealing with harassment and abuse cases prevent victims from reporting a great number of such cases to the authorities.
Despite this, about 3,982 cases reached the country's criminal courts in 1435 and 1436, on average six cases per day, a local publication reported.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the cases involved abuse, sexual harassment against women and luring boys for sexual assault.
Statistics show that Riyadh led all regions of the country in terms of abuse and harassment cases with 1,199 cases, followed by Makkah with 494, Eastern Province 335, Madinah 275, and the other regions registered the remaining 1,679 cases.
In a related issue, the investigation concerning the harassment of a girl in Taif by two young men resulted in the arrest of the offender. Makkah police spokesman Col. Ati Al-Qurashi said an action team was formed comprising a number of officers to analyze and gather information on the videoclip featuring the incident and the offenders were arrested after questioning.
Another harassment case circulating on social media, which concerns six young men and two girls, is still under investigation.
Legal expert Yusof Abdulatif Al-Jaber told local media that harassment is considered a criminal act by the law. “Harassment was a hush-hush incident in the past because people could not document such cases. But with the new audio and video technologies people use in our modern times, the lid was lifted from many painful and shameful harassment cases in our society.”
The Shoura Council is currently debating a draft bill against harassment which stipulates prison time and a fine of up to SR100,000 for harassers.