Dubai: Dealing with issues of sexual abuse can be problematic "in a society of taboos" where such matters are kept under wraps in fear of shame and dishonour, said a senior police official.
Thirty year old R.R was sentenced to death on Wednesday for the rape and murder of a four year old Pakistani child in the toilet of a mosque in Al Qusais during Eid Al Adha last November.
Questions have since arisen on how the man, who had a previous criminal record and had served a sentence for rape, could be set free and unmonitored to commit the tragic crime at the cost of a child's life.
Dr Mohammad Murad, director of the Decisions Support Centre at Dubai Police, said that fewer children would grow up with behavioural problems if the issue of sexual abuse was dealt with in a "proper manner". Sexual abuse, he added, often starts a cycle that is passed to future generations.
"According to our records, most sexual aggressors have themselves been victims of sexual aggression in the past. They often feel the need to take revenge on society for what they have suffered," he said.
He blamed negligence from societies that are apprehensive about reporting such crimes or attempting to address them.
"We continue to work under the culture of taboos in most Arab, oriental and Islamic societies today, which has a serious effect in dealing with issues of molestation and rape," he said.
Such cases against children on record do not exceed 22 per year in Dubai, he said, "but in reality I think the number is much higher". The stigma attached to the issue is the likely cause, he said, urging victims to report the crime. "Every police station has specialists who deal with issues of sexual abuse in complete confidence," he said.
"In cases where the victim's age ranges between one and five years, global statistics show that 20 to 25 per cent of the abusers come from within the household," he said, adding that most abusers of children are also found to be homosexuals.
Asked why an abuser with a history of sexual violence, as in the case of RR, was not monitored, Dr Murad said such decisions could only be taken following a court order.
"Besides, how many people can we monitor? Our job is to survey and record the evidence, arrest the suspect and refer him to the public prosecution," he said.
Dr Raymond Hamden, a Clinical & Forensic Psychologist at the Human Relations Institute in Dubai, said abusers are often found to be psychologically deranged or suffering from personality disorders.
"The abuser is often an adult male and comes from families where there has been excessive control or abuse," he said. "It is likely that the abuser has suffered prior trauma".
Children become the victims of adults’ inability to adapt to society because they are less likely to resist, said Dr Hamden. The abusers often have fantasies about children.
"Research shows that some adult sex offenders have abnormalities in parts of their brain that are predisposed to abusive behaviour. Some offenders even experience hallucinations commanding them to abuse," he said.
As with the case of RR, whose reaction to his death sentence was to ask for a cigarette, said Dr Hamden, offenders have well developed mechanisms to rationalize their behaviour.
"They blame a third party such as a parent, or a spouse that does not satisfy their sexual needs, and even the victim," he noted.
Dr Hamden said however that it was important not to let psychological explanations of the offender’s behaviour get in the way of serving justice.
"In many countries, the legal system is abused for reasons of insanity… there is never an excuse for committing a crime."
Asked if harsh punishment such as the death penalty was a good deterrence for future offenders, Dr Hamden said that while it is found to lessen occurrence of the crime, it is unlikely to eliminate it.
