Alicia Gali
"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”.
"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." Radha Stirling, CEO and founder of Detained in Dubai
If you're shocked by a woman being arrested after reporting gang-rape in Dubai, you should know how common these cases are
"Incidences like this are not uncommon in the glitzy Gulf, which wants you to think it's more liberal than it is. South African national Roxanne Hillier was jailed for seven months after it was alleged she spent time alone with her male employer – even after medical reports showed they hadn't had sex."
Read the full article at The Independent