JEDDAH: In a minute-long video uploaded to YouTube last month, two young women walk along the waterfront promenade in Jeddah as a group of young men jeer and follow them until the women become visibly agitated.

The video went viral with commentators lambasting the men in the video for harassing the women, who wore abayas. Public outrage, expressed in the media and online, prompted a police investigation. Six of the boys involved were detained and questioned.

Days later, another video emerged, purportedly of the same two young women. It was shared on news websites, which suggested it had been recorded just before the women were accosted.

In that video, the women are riding a quad bike on the promenade as the young men watch. One of the women tosses toward the men an “agal,” the black rope worn by men over their traditional checkered head cloths. The young men break out in laughter and hooting at the gesture.

The women were no longer seen as victims by viewers who accused them of being “indecent,” and provoking the men.

Judicial adviser Yehia Al-Shahrani told Sabq.org news website he believes the women acted in a “seductive and tempting” manner. He said it would be unjust to investigate and possibly refer the men to trial “without taking the same deserved action against those who seduced and aroused this to happen, which are the two girls.”

He also blamed the young women’s parents for allowing their daughters to be in a public place around young men.

The debate that emerged from the videos is significant. The Justice Ministry says 3,982 cases of harassment were registered over the last two years. However, that figure also includes cases of sexual assault and abuse.

Saudi women claim harassment is all too common and are calling for a law that would criminalize such behavior. “Harassment is something you see on a daily basis,” said Tamador Alyami, an activist. “It’s expected and accepted. That’s how common it is. It only makes controversy when it’s caught on camera.”

Social media and YouTube have carried videos that appear to show women being harassed. In one, from Taif, a young woman is aggressively followed by some young men as she walks near a shopping center. Police said two men were arrested afterward.

Commentator and writer Khaled Almaeena says religious education should emphasize basic Islamic fundamentals of right from wrong.

Almaeena is among several public figures who have called on the Shoura Council to recommend an anti-sexual harassment law to the Cabinet for approval.