Evidently, Dubai’s policy on male-rape cases is “Don’t tell and we won’t ask”.
As reported by the New York Times, a French 15 year old, Alexandre Robert was raped and sodomized by three Emirati men while he was vacationing with his family in the United Arab Emirates. It was during Bastille Day in July, when a chance encounter with one of his schoolmates led to a traumatizing ordeal with the three men.
It was during the aftermath when the Robert family found out that underneath Dubai’s status as the Arab standard of modernization and wealth, and its good reputation of protecting foreign investors, there lingers a criminal system that remains stagnant when it comes to the issues of homosexuality and protection of foreigners.
In fact, as revealed by his family and French diplomats, the Dubai authorities not only discouraged Alexandre from pressing charges, but also threatened to charge him with criminal homosexual activities. Instead of finding the reassuring comfort Dubai is known for, they were met with only hostility. This doesn’t even scratch the surface with the fact that they neglected for weeks on end to inform anyone in his camp that one of his attackers had tests HIV positive four years prior. As he flees from school to school fearing a jail term in Dubai, Alexandre reveals “They tried to smother this story. Dubai, they say we build the highest towers, they have the best hotels. But all the news, they hide it. They don’t want the world to know that Dubai still lives in the Middle Ages.”
Despite the fact that the perpetrators have jail history, and that their sperm were found in Alex, United Arab Emirates law does not recognize these rapes of male individuals, save for a crime of “forced homosexuality”. This adds a tragic touch as it becomes an undertone of a country that is a financially bustling and tourist center. Alexandre's case, furthermore, cannot be passed over as an exception to the rule because of the fact that at least 90% of the Dubai population are not of Emirati citizenry, the same majority that has raised concerns regarding this unequal treatment of foreigners.
Looking deeper, this case study reveals the taboos of HIV and homosexuality that resound strongly in Dubai, which many residents say has led to rampant harassment and discrimination, as well as the health system’s falling in line as they treat HIV in secret. In fact, under Emirates law, foreigners with HIV and those convicted of homosexual activity are deported. Those, such as Khalifa Rashid Bin Demas of the United Arab Emirates legal system claim otherwise, countering the “legal and judicial system in the United Arab Emirates makes no distinction between nationals and non-nationals”. But those such as a 42-year-old gay foreign businessman, who wishes to remain unidentified, save for his nickname Ko, chronicled his 13 years of residence in Dubai as filled with routine harassment and has said he will be leaving the country due to his fears of deportation and continued harassment.
The grim reality revealed by the facts and misfortunes of Alexandre’s case and the reality of Dubai owing its economic resurgence to foreign investors and companies must somehow be reconciled. But the legal system has continued to be a system of contradictions in many ways. Not only were the victims treated as though they were the guilty, but truth was the first casualty of the Alexandre case. It was over a month before the family learned that the police were incorrect in saying the assailants were all HIV negative.
However, this lack of aptitude runs deeper than just the legal/police force. The happy-go-lucky naivete and ignorance of the issues at hand resides with the health system as well. In Alexandre’s case, the doctor who was examining him the night of the assault accused Alexandre, “I know you’re a homosexual. You can admit it to me. I can tell”. This is the sort of conundrum which could end up hurting not only the case against the assailants, but making Alexandre’s irreparable hurt even worse.
Indeed, on the one hand, Dubai and much of the rest of the United Arab Emirates have a lot going for their legal system. Dubai has managed to successfully uphold a system based on Islamic values along with the best practices of the West, resulting in a modern legal system. This holds true especially in business and finance, an area in which Dubai has earned the reputation for its impartiality and swift justice. However, the opposite seems to hold true for its criminal justice system which is rooted in the contradiction between its laws rooted in conservative Arab and Islamic culture and its population whose overwhelming majority consists of foreigners.
In spite of much rhetoric on the part of Dubai officials, there is still much reservation about the focus and aim of the criminal justice system. In looking at Alexandre Robert’s case, it is only the tip of the iceberg as Dubai deals with a population full of foreigners. It also remains to be seen whether the criminal system is progressing to become that “modern legal system” or if it will remain the same stagnant system which Alexandre’s mother stated only moved forward after much diplomatic and public pressure.
3 comments:
And it is because of this very reason that rape and sexual assault remains the most underreported violent crime. Victims often fear reprisal from others, therefore they instead choose to keep these heinous acts under wraps. However, by doing so, a victim may foregoe much needed medical attention or psychological help. Furthermore, the perpetrator will continue to remain at large, thus endangering others as well.
Great post. I found the contradiction between Dubai's flourishing economic status and their stagnant legal positions to be very interesting. Dubai tries to place itself at the forefront of luxury, with the worlds only seven star hotel and yet it is missing one of the key elements of a good vacation spot; security. With this troubling information it is safe to say that Dubai needs to make some changes in their legal system and in their mentality before it can really be paradise.
The population comprises ninety percent non-Dubai citizens, i.e., 90% foreigners, not the tourists, but those who live there anyway, and what they must go through I can only imagine if this is how tourists are treated!! Since one of the predators here was HIV+ we are sure to have active sexual activity therein however illegal it may be. That they were waiting for the tourist and his comrade makes certain it is an active predation on tourists. One of the three predators knew the tourists and was the “friendly” bait for the trap, guaranteeing this being a practiced hunting activity. This story shows that the tourists are the yummier delicacies hunted down for repast from a standard fare, that it is an actively organized predation, and not a “random” or “opportunistic” feeding. ''Allah be praised.'' The www.boycottdubai.com site was closed but I would Boycott Dubai.
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