The sex-based harassment crime of women and the culture of silence in the Iraqi-Kurdistan Region

Abstract

In Iraqi-Kurdistan Region, sexual harassment against women is a significant crime that has received virtually slight attention from law-makers, researchers and the government. This qualitative-descriptive study seeks to understand women’s approval of sexual harassment and the cultural and legal factors behind victims’ silence. Despite recognizing the fact that the law has prohibited some forms of indecent acts, most women remain silent. The culture of silence has a terrible impact upon sexual- harassment crime escalation. Workplaces are chosen to get an accurate result to prove the existence of the crime and also to reveal the reasons for remaining silent. Three hundred individuals from work sectors in four main cities in Kurdistan participated. Overall, a sufficient ratio of participants approved their victimization inside their workplaces by perpetrators in the higher position. Most participants were women and there was a wide range of so-called justifiable circumstances of cultural obstacles facing victims to remain silent while they were experiencing or witnessing any type of sexual harassment. Deficiency in penal law and Labor law, unavailability of strict law and legal definition regarding sexual harassment enhanced the crime ratio to accelerate. The study’s findings will be a decent source to help women to break their silence and also to increase women's awareness concerning sexual- harassment legal rights.