Dubai - UAE imprisons Norwegian woman for reporting she was raped

[Ausgirl]

Omfg. Are we -seriously- seeing "blame the rape victim" posts here?

Really?

There are many atrocities - ethnic cleansing, female genital mutilation, to name just a couple - supported by law around the world.

Just because an atrocity is supported by -law- doesn't make it RIGHT.

People who think rape victims are asking for it, no matter where the rape occurs, should probably just bugger off to somewhere "blame the victim" is more acceptable. Otherwise, it's just, you know, trolling, isn't it.

The blood boils.

 

[time]

Omfg. Are we -seriously- seeing "blame the rape victim" posts here?

Really?

There are many atrocities - ethnic cleansing, female genital mutilation, to name just a couple - supported by law around the world.

Just because an atrocity is supported by -law- doesn't make it RIGHT.

People who think rape victims are asking for it, no matter where the rape occurs, should probably just bugger off to somewhere "blame the victim" is more acceptable. Otherwise, it's just, you know, trolling, isn't it.

The blood boils.

Thank you.

 

[Woodland]

I don't see any 'blame the victim' posts - Dubai laws can be barbaric, mind boggling and frustrating to those from other countries.

It is what it is - the more aware people are when going there, the better off they are. There are no remedies in Dubai to some situations as in the West.

 

[singers]

The law is barbaric and I still stand behind that. No woman is safe from being raped since it is being basically sanctioned. More incidents like this and media coverage might help to inform those who go to Dubai, but they do not exactly advertise their laws and instead present themselves as somewhat of a resort. The media could help cover this as well as travel warnings about being raped. I also think sanctions should be put against these countries for human rights violations.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/22/dubai-rape-case-woman-pardoned

I live in Singapore and people go to Dubai for shopping and holidays often. I would never have known that their laws treat rape victims so unjustly unless I had googled or read about cases like this.
Dubai markets itself as a progressive Muslim country and a safe high end resort.

It is not.

If a girl went to school in a country where schooling for girls is illegal and then got arrested. Would we say it's her own fault for not following the law?

At some point basic human rights should stand. Women have a right not to be raped. This should be worldwide and Dubai needs to get onboard with the rest of civilization.

 

[Sonya610]

I don't see any 'blame the victim' posts - Dubai laws can be barbaric, mind boggling and frustrating to those from other countries.

I vacationed for a couple of weeks in Iran and their laws are even stricter than Dubai.

As a single female traveling alone I felt *very* protected, their entire system is designed to ensure that females are treated with respect. The airport assigned me a female helper when I arrived, they had female only security check points, the tour guide assigned a female guide as well (whom I didn't like and abandoned the first day).

Everyone was extremely polite and the men were very very respectful towards women on the street and elsewhere. To touch a woman on the street would lead to arrest.

Having said that I knew it was *illegal* to have a man in my hotel room. I knew if I decided to break the law and spend alone time with a man in a hotel then I better trust him and be able to handle the situation myself because I had NO LEGAL RECOURSE, we BOTH broke the law and running to the police to claim "well we got drunk and such in his hotel room but then I think he date raped me" would have landed my butt in jail or at best on the next plane out of the country! Expecting them to change their laws to suit my liberal western standards while I was arrogantly BREAKING their laws would be ludicrous!

Common sense folks. Sheesh. Ignorance of the law is no excuse in the US or in other countries. It is their culture and people that choose to visit or work there are GUESTS. If you can't abide by their laws then stay out.

 

[LambChop]

There are pieces missing to her story. I would imagine this woman would prefer to get out of the country before she tells her story in full. She claims to have been at a business meeting and then waking up. I did not read that she claimed to be in bed, just that she woke up as she was being raped. So was she drugged during the meeting? Most people do not fall asleep in the middle of a meeting. If she were drugged obviously she would test over the limits. It would be interesting to find out if this has happened before with this man and it was just never reported because of the laws. It also appears to me that men may feel they can get away with it because it's not going to be reported. What woman is going to tell on you if she too will suffer?

But it is true that once you step outside your own country you have to abide by the rules and laws of the country you are visiting. jmo

 

[time]

I live in Singapore and people go to Dubai for shopping and holidays often. I would never have known that their laws treat rape victims so unjustly unless I had googled or read about cases like this.
Dubai markets itself as a progressive Muslim country and a safe high end resort.

It is not.

If a girl went to school in a country where schooling for girls is illegal and then got arrested. Would we say it's her own fault for not following the law?

At some point basic human rights should stand. Women have a right not to be raped. This should be worldwide and Dubai needs to get onboard with the rest of civilization.

I agree... the place is marketed as very multicultural and high end as you say. And, a lot of debauchery goes on there to boot. Alcohol is available and from what I've read it is only illegal to be drinking in public. Dubai also is known for basically engaging in human trafficking - for laborers and service providers (although they recently claimed they were cracking down).

Labor, Migration, and Human Trafficking in Dubai
http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=17997

Dubai is definitely not a progressive Muslim country. I lived in Malaysia and it was far different.

 

[LambChop]

I agree... the place is marketed as very multicultural and high end as you say. And, a lot of debauchery goes on there to boot. Alcohol is available and from what I've read it is only illegal to be drinking in public. Dubai also is known for basically engaging in human trafficking - for laborers and service providers (although they recently claimed they were cracking down).

Labor, Migration, and Human Trafficking in Dubai
http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=17997

Dubai is definitely not a progressive Muslim country. I lived in Malaysia and it was far different.

The prologue to this book was very interesting reading.

 

[time]

The prologue to this book was very interesting reading.

Yeah, I think more is going on than what the author seems to report (without reading the whole book). The Phillipine Govt. has/had placed restrictions and I think pertains to the comment about the woman going through London. Women would go to Dubai or through to other countries and the Phillipines would not let them go without a signed contract.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-...ay-minimum-wage-for-filipino-domestic-workers

These explain general problems.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amKSCFA_Fm3s

http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/st...uae-officials-launch-crackdown-051514759.html

Why they can?t come home

Zapanta said altering contracts without the knowledge of workers is common in this kind of trade. Dubai has no laws protecting domestic helpers, automatically rendering these Filipinos vulnerable to maltreatment, she said.


Since there are no existing laws that can favor the many ill-treated Filipino women in Dubai, it is hard to press charges against their employers. Even telling the authorities their stories after they successfully break free from abusive hands is difficult since the effort can work against them.
Usually, employers would counter the victim?s account of molestation by saying that she had engaged in a relationship with him, which is prohibited under the laws of Dubai. The Filipino faces the risk of arrest and detention.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/ne...0221-254484/140-Filipinas-are-slaves-in-Dubai