90% harassment cases related to indecent assault in Dubai

Representational Image

Dubai, hundreds of calls were made to the police to report eve-teasing last year. In fact, 90 per cent of eve-teasing crimes re­ported in the emirate last year were related to indecent assault.
Brigadier Rashid bin Saree from the Dubai Police said: "This crime is a breach of modesty and those responsible will face imprisonment and other punitive measures, in­cluding deportation."
Last year, 377 calls were made to the police, including 68 calls about violating women's modesty in a public place. About 140 peo­ple were penalised for immoral acts in public places, while 169 complaints were made for using "wired and wireless connectivity devices" to harass. However, some of the complaints were also resolved amicably.
Also read: Awareness key to fighting eve-teasers
Reported methods of harass­ment include: Texting, following females in public, throwing phone numbers in bags or cars, driving behind girls and giving gifts. Others include taking pho­tographs and threatening to put them on the Internet, and also using them to force women into a relationship.
In 2011, 97 eve-teasing crimes were registered by the police. "There are certain crimes that women do not re­port," Brig Saree said. The po­lice frequently tour beaches to deter eve-teasing, while under­cover patrols target miscreants.
"Many people, especially work­ers and bachelors, go to the beach and ogle at women over the weekends. The police warn such people first, but if it is repeated, the person is taken to the police station and made to sign a docu­ment saying that he won't repeat the offence again."
amira@khaleejtimes.com