A British tourist has been arrested and reportedly charged in Dubai after she was gang-raped by a group of other British nationals. The victim reported the rape to police and was promptly arrested herself on charges of having extramarital intercourse. She was later released on bail, but her passport was confiscated, and she may face trial for the charges which mandate punishments that can include imprisonment and deportation, flogging, and even stoning to death.
"The UAE has a long history of penalising rape victims," says Radha Stirling, founder and director of Detained in Dubai. "We have been involved with several cases in the past where this has happened, and we work with the lawyers and families and have campaigned to change attitudes in the police and judiciary. Recent cases such as those of Alicia Gail and Roxanne Hiller, and the horrible case at hand, show that it is still not safe for victims to report these crimes to the police without the risk of suffering a double punishment”.
All of the victim's alleged attackers have returned to the UK, and no charges have been filed against them.
"This is tremendously disturbing," Stirling continued. "Police regularly fail to differentiate between consensual intercourse and violent rape. Victims go to them expecting justice, and end up being prosecuted. They not only invalidate their victimisation, they actually punish them for it."
