"The efforts of the patrol police to reduce street harassment will be meaningless if not supported by members of society*" said Abdulaghani Al-Wajeeh* the director of police patrols in Sana'a. He noted that harassment cases have increased according to police statistics in Sana?a* saying that in one month they recorded 45 cases of harassment despite the fact that that most Yemeni girls prefer not to report harassment incidents. To clarify the police patrol?s job* Al-Wajeeh said that it is the responsibility of the patrol to punish those who harass people on the streets. The police take the offender to prison where he spends five months or more incarcerated as punishment. Yemen Times conducted a survey on teasing and sexual harassment in January 2009* in which 90 percent of a sample of 70 interviewees said they had been harassed in Sana?a one way or another. About 14 percent said they are continuously harassed and around 37 percent said they are harassed physically by men outdoors. The survey also revealed that 37 percent of the female interviewees were subjected to sexual harassment in the form of degrading insults* telephone calls and text messages. Seventy- two percent of the women interviewed said that they had been called sexually charged names while walking in the street and about 20 percent of the group said that they were subjected to such demeaning remarks on a regular basis. Most women overcome their fear and go about their day using public transportation and walking in public places. However* some expressed their genuine concern about being harassed on the street.The police patrol was established in 2001 mainly to make sure that there are no problems in the streets. However* this body can not control the harassment via telephones Al- Wajeeh admitted* adding that it is not possible to control the telecommunication companies. A police patrol member is supposed to keep his eyes open* especially in large crowds where it is easily possible to be mugged or harassed. ?Up to today we have the same number of policemen employed* even though we have been active over a long period and we are available only in Sana?a*? said Al-Wajeeh. The police?s main places of patrol are the old city of Sana?a* Tahrir Square* Jamal Street* Hael* Al-Zubairy and Al-Hasabah districts. In addition* there are observation points near the Movenpick Hotel* Ayah Round and Al-Saleh mosques where the police patrol work around the clock. They can also be found at universities* schools and in large stores.Most of the police patrol members wear uniforms similar to traffic police with a blue shirt and black pants. The police patrol* however* are distinguished by having a black line on their shirt arms. "Sometimes the police patrol members don?t wear uniforms to be able to integrate with the public and observe closely*" Al-Wajeeh said. Sheikhs encourage aggressive attitude against women Human right activists accused some mosque preachers of provoking aggressive attitudes against women* which contributes to the harassment of women. ?Unfortunately* some preachers go against women aggressively which creates an innate feeling in men of hatred towards women* even though women are their sisters* mothers and wives*" said Elham Al-Kibssi* the Activities Manager at the Democratic School.Al-Kibssi insisted on the importance of raising awareness among youth and directed these preachers to give less extreme speeches to prevent any misunderstanding. "When my brother comes back from the mosque* he always asks me to wear a veil and prevents me from going out in the street. In fact* he believes the preacher's speeches which mostly tackle woman's modesty and how to protect women and such stuff*" said Um Kalthum* a young girl.According to a study conducted by Penn State University to investigate reasons behind the low incidence of reporting in general* the research indicates that there are three main reasons why women do not report sexual harassment.1- Women often believe that no one will do anything about the problem. If women are harassed in an organization and the leadership of the organization does not speak out against that harassment* does not institute procedures for reporting harassment or does not act quickly on reports of harassment* most victims will be discouraged from acting.2- Women are afraid they will be blamed. Women are told they ?invited? rape or harassment by their dress or demeanor. Because women see this happening to others* they have good reason to believe it will happen to them as well.3- Women often do not want to hurt the harasser. This reason derives partly from the traditional saying ?boys will be boys*? which is used as an excuse for inappropriate behavior by males. Girls are taught to keep silent and to overlook bad behavior by boys. Not just women However the harassment is not limited to women alone* said Al-Wajeeh. "We found out that women have recently started to harass men* even though harassment is a crime in the Yemeni law. The law specified two sections from the Yemeni Punishment Law about harassment* so it is a crime to be punished" said Al-Wajeeh.He added that campaigns against harassment should therefore be directed towards both men and women. Al-Wajeeh further warned that harassment has become a common phenomenon among young people. There are many factors that led to this phenomenon* like unemployment* family disintegration* a lack of religious awareness* TV shows* spare time* the misuse of technology such as cell phones and the internet and the lack of a sturdy law to punish the harasser* according to Al-Wajeeh. "Schools should provide awareness among the students*" said Al-Wajeeh. He added that awareness seminars among society?s members must be held in a recurrent manner by both concerned NGOs and police officials* and encourage the victims to report harassers....

المزيد...