UAE’s Amended Penal Code To Combat Sexual Harassment

Any sexual behavior that’s unwelcome and offensive, humiliating, or intimidating is counted as sexual harassment. It can happen anywhere, whether it is school, college, university, or your workplace. Few sexual harassment cases are reported, as people are often unaware of their rights and the possible steps they can take in such unfortunate situations. If you are facing sexual harassment charges or need legal guidance, consult with an experienced criminal lawyer who can provide expert advice and representation. Sexual harassment is a punishable offense in UAE, and seeking legal counsel can help you understand your rights and options.

Sexual harassment can be 
 

• Verbal
• Making lecherous comments, catcalling, Whistling at someone, and narrating sexual jokes and stories are counted as verbal sexual harassment.
• Nonverbal
• Any sexual bodily gesture or hand movement, making someone uncomfortable with constant staring or lewd facial expressions is counted as nonverbal sexual harassment.
• Physical
• Touching someone without consent, or inappropriately, leaning over, pinching, or cornering, forceful hugging, kissing, or stroking comes under physical sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can also happen in cyberspace. Thus the laws in UAE are also addressing this issue. 

Laws covering offenses of sexual harassment
 

The sexual crimes are covered under Articles 358, 359, 361, and 362 of The Federal Law no. (3) Of 1987 promulgating the penal code.

Article 358:  According to this article, any person involved in an indecent or disrespectful act shall be punished with impressment for up to 6 months or more. Moreover, if the victim is a minor under the age of 15, the imprisonment can increase up to 1 year.

Article 359: Anyone attempting to disgrace a female publically (physically or verbally) can face imprisonment up to 1 year and a fine of 10,000. A person trying to enter premises only allowed for women, in female clothing can also face the same penalties.

Article 360: Anyone, in a public place who passes impropriate/lewd massages or gestures can face imprisonment for up to 6 months.

Article 361: If anyone is guilty of publically seducing anybody, passing obscene remarks, signs, and so on is punishable with imprisonment of 6 months and a fine of AED 5000.

Article 363: If anyone tempts or convinces a minor female or male to practice prostitution or help them in the act, will be punished with imprisonment for 2 years and a fine.

New Updates
 

The new laws enacted on 20 September 2021 suggest strict punishment for the offense of sexual harassment as compared to previous laws.

Article 414:

If anybody is found on public premises, trying to provoke people to engage in fornication shall be punished with imprisonment for up to 6 months and can also be liable to pay a fine up to ADE 100,000.

Article 415:

Anybody involved in going against public morality (making absurd statements, singing out loud, and speaking against morality) or anyone publicly convincing another person to engage in fornication of any kind will be punished with imprisonment for 1 month and a fine not more than AED 1000,000.

Article 417:

Anyone who provokes, seduces, assists, or encourages another person, to engage in prostitution or fornication will be liable to imprisonment of up to 1 year and if the victim is a minor the punishment can go up to 2 years.

Incidents that are dealt with under UAE’s courts as

Sexual Harassment
 

Some of the acts counted as sexual harassment are listed below:

• Rape or attempt to assault, Undue strain for sexual favor, Unencouraged contacting, hanging over, hugging, or surrounding, Unwanted sexual looks, and signals, Using sexualized terms to depict an individual, Using sexualized questions and words during discussion or to address somebody, Catcalls, Whistling at somebody, inquiries concerning sexual history or sexual life, Kissing sounds and signals, Spreading rumors about an individual’s sexual history or direction, Forceful embracing, kissing, tapping, or patting, Gifting sexualized objects, Staring at somebody or lift eye developments, Lewd looks, winking, licking lips, and so on.
• Sexual abuse in any form is not acceptable, Awareness about the prevention of sexual abuse is very important, everyone should educate themselves about the rights they have under the law. The problem of under-reporting can also be resolved through awareness. It’s our collective responsibility to help those suffering from sexual harassment, as a society we must be supportive and eliminate factors that contribute to the fear of the victim while reporting a case like victim-blaming, character assassination, removal from jobs, etc. being silent about sexual abuse will only encourage the offenders.

How to file a complaint?

Anyone encountered or encountering sexual harassment can file a complaint at the nearest police station. one should provide proper details of the act, it can be helpful if any piece of evidence can be presented. Once the complaint is filed the police will start investigating the matter and will prepare a criminal report.
 

You can get help from the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE), and there is a helpline (80060) that advises on how to file a complaint. Harassment can be stopped if the person subjected to harassment takes clear action. There should be a zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment. The best thing about the new harassment laws is that they treat male and female victims equally. It is equally important to recognize that males can also be victims of sexual harassment. A few things must be kept in mind while filing a sexual harassment case, the alleged act of sexual abuse must be repetitive because the one-time act is not considered sexual harassment in UAE. The act committed by the culprit in absence of any trace of any sexual conduct won’t be qualified as sexual harassment. In any event, when the act is harassment and repetitive too and if the sexual nature is lacking, the victim can’t record a sexual harassment case. The act of sexual harassment must be completely unwanted, and unwelcomed by the victim. Last but not least getting legal advice can be very fruitful in fighting against sexual harassment.