Cairo: Saudi Arabia has warned that tough penalties are meted out against offenders involved in harassment at workplaces, education institutions and shelters.
The offence is punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of SR300,000 or one of the two penalties, Saudi prosecutors have said.
Saudi prosecution has urged the units concerned in the public and private sectors to take the necessary measures to prevent and combat harassment in the work environment.
The prosecutors said anyone with information about a harassment case to report it to the competent state agencies.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has sought to fight sex offences and boost women’s rights as part of drastic reforms in the kingdom
In 2018, Saudi Arabia approved a law criminalising sexual harassment, making the act punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of SR300,000.
Saudi authorities have said legal punishment against sex harassment is irreversible even if the victim renounced own right or did not file a legal complaint.
According to the Saudi law, harassment carries punishment of three years in prison and a fine of SR100,000 or one of both penalties.
But if the victim is a child, a person with special needs or has been subjected to the act while sleeping or unconscious, the crime is punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of SR300,000 or one of both penalties.
The Saudi Human Rights Commission has said that in the crime of harassment, the victim’s renunciation of own right or failure to file a complaint does not deny the competent agencies the right to take the legal action they deem necessary to serve common good.
The panel has defined harassment as any verbal expression, deed or motion carrying sexual insinuation made by a person towards another referring to the body and honour or harming modesty in any way including modern technology methods.
