Shocking Accounts of Harassment in Iraq

Shafaq News / Sexual harassment in public spaces has recently increased in Iraq. The victims decided to fight back, and began documenting the blatantly inappropriate acts to share them on social media, igniting uproar in the traditionally conservative Iraqi society.

Harassment is defined as any inappropriate behavior that violates the victim's dignity. It can take the form of verbal or physical abuse, as well as psychological or sexual assault.

Obscene harassment

Shafaq News Agency decided to highlight this phenomenon and surveyed girls' experiences with harassment and its effects on them.

Ghazal Iyad, from Babel governorate, talked about being verbally harassed while working, "When I make contacts with clients at work, some of them assume I like them and start harassing me, not realizing that I am an employee using polite language and doing my job."

"Harassment is not restricted to communication; it also occurs in the street, in public places, and on social media."

Increasing rates

According to unofficial statistics provided by the Forum of Iraqi Women Media, 77% of Iraqi women experience direct harassment, and more than 90% of them have demanded setting regulations that can deter harassers.

The most shocking statistics, however, show that 78% of those surveyed reported experiencing workplace harassment and could not quit due to financial constraints.

According to a social study on the forms of harassment they experienced, "57% of them experienced verbal harassment, whereas 20% experienced sexual harassment, 5% experienced domestic harassment, and 7% experienced harassment on social media."

Workplace arassment

Mariam Ali, a local who works in a mall in al-Diwaniyah, said she had been repeatedly harassed by clients who gave her their phone numbers or asked her out.

She made no secret of some employers harassing female employees, "Girls who reject this behavior wind up working overtime, as if in punishment."

The security services occasionally announce arresting harassers and referring many of them to the judiciary, citing the prevalence of such incidents in markets and huge crowds.

In an experiment to combat the harassment crisis, which is growing rapidly, particularly in recent years, the Ministry of Interior has started deploying female police officers in marketplaces and other public locations in Baghdad and other regions of the country.

Clothing

Social researcher Shahla Sabbar confirms, "Harassment is widespread and more common around special occasions and holidays in every city in Iraq. On the other hand. Young people assert that women's revealing attire is what leads to harassment."

"Wear appropriate attire," Sabar urged girls, "to avoid drawing unwelcome attention, which typically results in harassment."

She also counseled harassed girls to express outright opposition to the behavior rather than keep quiet.

"The girl whose boss/supervisor is a sexual harasser must seek legal recourse; if he continues to do so, she must seek another job to protect her threatened safety and reputation."

Iraqi Law

Sexual harassment is defined in Iraq's Labor Law No. 37 of 2015 as "any physical or verbal sexual behavior, or any other sex-based conduct, which affects the dignity of women and men, is undesirable, unreasonable, and insulting to those who receive it, and leads to the rejection or non-submission of any person to such behavior, explicitly or implicitly, to make a decision that affects their job."

Article 10 of the Iraqi Labor Law prohibits "Sexual harassment in the workplace and occupation, whether in the job search, vocational training, employment, or working conditions. It also prohibits any other behavior that creates an intimidating, hostile, or degrading work environment to those subjected to such behavior."

According to ILO data for 2021, 77% of females in Africa, 45%-55% in Europe, 30%-50% in Latin America, and 30%-40% in Asia and the Pacific are subjected to workplace harassment.

The punishment

Lawyer Ali al-Abboudi explained that the legal penalties start from article 400 onwards, and the penalty for simple harassment is a violation notice, whereas for sexual assault, the penalty is severe and might reach life imprisonment or the death penalty."

According to Article 400 of the amended Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, anyone who commits an indecent act without the other party's consent faces imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding one hundred dinars, or either of these two penalties.

According to Article 402 of the Penal Code, "Whoever requests immoral matters from another is punished by imprisonment for a maximum of three months and a fine of thirty dinars, or by either of the two penalties: a) Whoever requests immoral matters from another male or female. (b) A person who harasses a female in public by using words, actions, or gestures that violate her modesty."

Suppose the offender returns to commit another offense of the same type for which he was sentenced within one year from the date of the previous sentence. In that case, the penalty is imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months and a fine not exceeding one hundred dinars, according to the amended Penal Code No. 111 of 1969.

According to al-Abboudi, "the penal code issued in 1969 is very old, and the reality now requires new amendments, such as tightening penalties for the harasser, especially fines, to be a deterrent to anyone ready to commit this crime."

"There have been cases of workplace harassment of both female and male employees, and the Labor Law referred to this subject in Article 10, first paragraph No. 37 of 2015."

Harassment causes

He attributes the causes of this phenomenon's exacerbation to "a lack of religious and moral consciousness and education, as well as unemployment, poverty, low cultural and educational levels, and a lack of censorship of pornography websites In Iraq. Such sites are not banned in Iraq, unlike in developed and even open and democratic countries, where age restrictions or fees are imposed due to their significant negative effects on society, which is what Iraqi society is currently experiencing."

"In Iraq, social media sites are buzzing with celebrities dressed inappropriately, performing sexual overtones, and abusing without accountability or control," he added.

Male harassment

According to Al-Abboudi, "harassment is no longer limited to the male and female scenario, but is now occurring between the same sex, i.e., between one male and another, as evidenced by the cases that are received weekly in the courts, which is shocking because Iraqi society is conservative and adheres to tribal customs and traditions."

According to al-Abboudi, harassment is no longer limited to young people. "One of my clients took a taxi and was surprised to find the driver engaging in inappropriate behavior inside the vehicle. After registering the license plate and car specifications, she got out of the car and filed a complaint. After judicial proceedings were initiated against the driver, she dropped the case due to pressure from the defendant's tribe."