UAE announces heavy penalties against sexual harassment

The UAE has adopted a tough regime of penalties for sexual harassment as the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan amended the Penal Code to the address the offence.

“Whoever commits the offense of sexual harassment shall be punished by a jail term of at least one year, a fine of not less than Dh10,000 or both,” according to article 359 repeated of the Penal Code.

“The penalty shall be imprisonment for a period of not less than two years and a fine of not less than fifty thousand dirhams or one of these penalties if the perpetrators are multiple or the perpetrator carries a weapon or the perpetrator has a functional, family or study authority over the victim,” the article said.

Under article 120 of the UAE Labour Law, an employer may terminate the service of an employee who is penalised by a criminal judgement.

The new rule is timely as the UAE Penal Code lacked addressing sexual harassment , which is not uncommon in the UAE, but it is rarely reported, according to legal experts.

Under article 120 of the UAE Labour Law, an employer may terminate the service of an employee who is penalised by a criminal judgement.

The new rule is timely as the UAE Penal Code lacked addressing sexual harassment , which is not uncommon in the UAE, but it is rarely reported, according to legal experts.