97 men reported harassing girls in six months

Dubai authorities received 97 reports against men harassing girls in the emirate in the first half of this year and most of the offences were done in public places or by phone, a senior police officer has said.

Colonel Jamal Al Jallaf, deputy director of the general detectives and criminal investigation administration, said the bulk of those involved in such acts were young men with the aim of killing time.

But he stressed that such offences are part of what he described as a harmful social phenomenon and reflect bad personal manners and ethics.

“During the first six months of this year, we received 97 reports on harassment of women…most of them were done in public places or by phone and they involved bad words or obscene acts in public,” Jallaf told Emirat Alyoum daily.

“These offences are considered serious in the UAE, which has introduced stringent laws to curb such a phenomenon…they include heavy fines, up to one year in jail and deportation of expatriates caught harassing women.”

According to Jallaf, sexual harassment offences involved 34 rapes, four sodomy cases, 20 obscene acts, and three cases involving incitement to prostitution.

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