Saudi cabinet approves measure to criminalize sexual harassment

Saudi Arabia's cabinet approved on Monday a measure to criminalize sexual harassment in the Kingdom, introducing a jail sentence of up to five years and a SAR 300,000 fine.

The cabinet, chaired by King Salman in Jeddah, backed the legislation, which requires a royal decree to become law. The decision comes just before women start driving in the Kingdom on June 24 after a decades long ban.

“(The legislation) aims at combating the crime of harassment, preventing it, applying punishment against perpetrators and protecting the victims in order to safeguard the individual’s privacy, dignity and personal freedom which are guaranteed by Islamic law and regulations,” the Shoura Council said in a statement.