Over the past three years, a serial rapist had been loose in Jeddah. He is alleged to have raped at least 13 young girls, abducting them from various public areas, abusing them, then releasing them. Police in Jeddah arrested a Saudi school teacher earlier this month after he was identified by several of the girls and a DNA test appeared to link him to the crimes. (Another man had been wrongly arrested six months earlier and is now seeking compensation.)

Rape, of course, is a heinous crime. It denigrates the victim, usually leading to intense feelings of shame. In Saudi Arabia, a society that operates strongly on balances of honor and shame, the plight of the victim becomes even worse as the girl’s shame is transferred to the family. This, reports Arab News, leads to a reluctance to report the crime to authorities. Even in liberal, Western societies, it is believed that incidents of rape go under-reported due to shame.

Families guard ‘honor’ while rape victims suffer
FATIMA AL-SAADI | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: Many families are still not reporting sexual assaults of their family members for fear of being stigmatized.

An ongoing story about the serial Jeddah rapist has sparked a debate about the importance of reporting such attacks instead of covering them up.

Police believe the rapist was encouraged to continue his horrific attacks because some incidents were not reported.

It is clear his young victims will be left with mental scars that will not be healed anytime soon. They will need to undergo psychological treatment.

The victims’ families will also need to be counseled, especially in a conservative society where the chasteness of potential brides is considered extremely important before they get married.
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Oddly, this sense of shame appears to have played a helpful role in capturing this serial rapist. Another Arab News piece says that because the story did not reach the media, the police were able to conduct a low-key investigation that led them to the alleged perpetrator.

Sheesha odor gives rapist away
ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: The mystery surrounding the kidnapping and rape of at least 13 girls since 2006 that had challenged Jeddah’s entire police apparatus was solved with help of a nine-year-old girl.

A 43-year-old schoolteacher and married father of five is in custody thanks to the girl’s recollection of events that forced her to become the 13th (or according to some reports, the 16th) victim of a brutal crime.

The man has been linked to the crimes with DNA evidence. Over the past four years up to 30 other suspects had been investigated.

According to a report in Saturday’s Al-Madinah newspaper, the girl was able to identify the house she was taken to because of the muezzin’s voice from the nearby mosque, as well as the smell of sheesha inside the home where she was sexually assaulted.
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