Just too fucking much!!!!!!!!

[DuckiesDarling]

I have posted on here before about how we should obey the laws in other countries even if we don't agree with them. But this bit of outrage is just way too much, a victim of a crime made even more a victim when she reported it. Story below.


An Australian woman is suing a luxury United Arab Emirates resort after she was jailed for adultery when she complained of being drugged and raped by three men.

Alica Gali, from Brisbane, was sentenced to 12 months in prison after an assault by three co-workers while drinking at the Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort staff bar in Fujairah, UAE in June 2008.

After reporting the incident to police, Ms Gali was jailed for adultery and served eight months before being pardoned in March 2009 and returning to Australia.

At a hearing in Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday, Maurice Blackburn lawyers were granted leave to sue the hotel, alleging Ms Gali's employer breached its workplace obligations by failing to have systems in place to protect their workers against assault.

Maurice Blackburn claims the hotel encouraged staff to drink alcohol in the staff bar without a permit, creating an environment where it was easy for a drink to be spiked.

In the UAE it is illegal to have sex outside of marriage or drink without a permit.

One basis for the firm taking action in Australia is that Alicia took a contract with the company while she was in Queensland.

"Alicia's employer has let her down in the most terrible, terrible of ways," Maurice Blackburn associate Melissa Payne said.

"A company like this should know better.

"There are many things they could have done and should have done to protect Alicia.

"These include having segregated secure quarters for its female employees and providing adequate induction and training as to the local laws and customs for its foreign employees.

"This resort promotes itself as 'paradise on earth' but it certainly wasn't paradise for Alicia."

According to Ms Payne, Ms Gali has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, claustrophobia and nightmares as a result of the incident and her eventual imprisonment.

In a statement, Ms Gali said she wanted to warn other women about the danger of working in countries where laws were "archaic."

"I still feel angry and upset and it's distressing because I was a victim in all of this and I was punished – the laws have to change to protect women and give them rights and the Australian government should use its influence to push for changes to laws," the statement read.

"The UAE is being promoted hugely here as a tourism destination.

"They are not complying with human rights, women's rights and migrant workers' rights."

Ms Gali said she thought she would feel safe and protected in the employ of an international hotel group but believes she was not given the correct advice and no one from the company helped her when she was charged and imprisoned.

According to Ms Gali alcohol is provided to tourists despite a lack of a permit.

"The only time they enforce drinking laws is when you get involved in another situation that involves the law – and that's what happened to me."

She stated she did not want the incident to be manipulated into an anti-Muslim or anti-Arab attack.

"The men involved were foreign nationals, they were not from the Middle East.

"Two were from India and one from Mauritius."

Maurice Blackburn believes the three men were imprisoned as a result of the assault.
The firm will be drawing on human rights and labour law experts as well as UAE legal experts as part of their case.

The parent company of Le Meridien, Starwood Hotels, has been contacted for comment.

Link (http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/africa/4819087/Australian-woman-drugged-raped-then-jailed-for-adultery)

[Long Duck Dong]

ok..... they spiked the drink she had... and raped her..... is that the drink that she was having illegally ????

she was ignoring the customs and laws of the country and acting in a illegal manner, for a start..... if she had not been drinking illegally, her drink could have not been spiked and she could have saved herself a lot of trouble.

now the company may have let her down, and I will agree there... but the company is not responsible for actions and deeds that break the laws, when its individuals making a personal choice and action.

yes the company could have done more to protect ms gali, but so could have ms gali herself... IE the illegal drinking.

so we have a case where her human rights were infringed upon by individuals that all acted illegally and its the company that is getting sued....

I just have one question..... where is the personal responsibility of the individuals ??????

[DuckiesDarling]

After reporting the incident to police, Ms Gali was jailed for adultery and served eight months before being pardoned in March 2009 and returning to Australia

There was illegal drinking, yes, and that is part of the lawsuit that the company allowed the drinking and led to this. My outrage is she was jailed for adultery when she was drugged and raped. Rape is one of the most under reported crimes out there because of blame the victim games. There is no denying that personal responsibilty should be a factor but to be imprisoned for adultery when you had no choice in having sex is a bit much, don't you think?

[Long Duck Dong]

yes I do agree..... but would you perfer different rules for different people under the same situation ?

are we not all about equal rights and equal responsibility.... or are we truly about * treat us as equals and all the same way UNTIL this or that happens, then apply the rules differently. *

its like I have said, I live in NZ.... if a female hits a male, its common assault, jail time 6 months..... but if a male hits a female... its 2 years jail time.....
and thats considered fair

at the end of the day, I empathise with the female in question.... but I also look at the facts leading up to the rape.... and that is the spiked illegal drink...
she knew the laws of the country, she broke them freely.... and became a victim of her own choices..... now she blames the company

I may be wrong.... but if i draw a line in the sand and apply the rule equally to all... then yes, she was guilty of adultery regardless of the circumstances. its the one rule for all scenerio

if I was to say that she was a victim of a foul deed by 3 men and poor person.... then I am exempting her from any responsibility for her own actions that led up to the situation

the fact that people could drink illegally and had access to the alcohol... is the responsibility of the company and the hotel..... the choice to drink is a personal responsibility..... and that is what I am seeing and saying

should she have been charged with adultery ? .. mmmm yes and no.... she was not a willing participant in the adultery..... but adultery was committed and that was a offence under the legal law

so it begs the question now..... do we respect the laws of another country, as wrong as we believe them to be.... and tell them to change the laws to match ours, which are applied differently depending on the person and the circumstance....... or do we accept that some countries have laws that we do not like or agree with... but they apply them swiftly and equally ????

[DuckiesDarling]

So by the same token if it had been a man who was the victim, he wouldn't have been jailed for adultery but executed for engaging in homosexual activity regardless of his sexual orientation. She drank, she admits it, but does taking a drink, even an illegal one, remove her right to say no?

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

Ok, I'm confused. You have to have a permit to drink there, or the Hotel has to have a permit before people can drink??? And I dont understand their laws one damn bit...:(
Cat

[DuckiesDarling]

Apparently, Cat, the hotel can have a permit that would permit to serve alcohol to tourists and have a staff bar with a permit. Something they didn't have which according to the lawsuit "led to an environment that allowed this to happen". It just sickens me, rape is not having sex outside of marriage. Rape is about power. So the fact this woman was jailed for adultery because she reported a rape. It just makes you wonder how many rapes go unreported in that country.

[darkeyes]

Ok, I'm confused. You have to have a permit to drink there, or the Hotel has to have a permit before people can drink??? And I dont understand their laws one damn bit...:(
Cat

Dont kno bout wer u live Cat but 'ere any place wich has alcoholic liquors for sale needs to be licensed.. a license is a permit to sell beers wines and spirits.. Hotels, pubs cafe's and restaurants all need to be licensed and they are also required for beer tents at weddings and fetes, village halls for parties and special events and the numbers of special such licenses for the parasite wedding of the year will be enormous.. if alcohol is not to be sold, but is available free of charge, then no license or permit is required..

..so things arent so different..;)

[Diva667]

Apparently, Cat, the hotel can have a permit that would permit to serve alcohol to tourists and have a staff bar with a permit. Something they didn't have which according to the lawsuit "led to an environment that allowed this to happen". It just sickens me, rape is not having sex outside of marriage. Rape is about power. So the fact this woman was jailed for adultery because she reported a rape. It just makes you wonder how many rapes go unreported in that country.

Lots. Because women who are raped in such misogynistic cultures don't report it. Because it's deemed to be all their fault, in one way or another. Women have no power in the Arab world.

Of course she did break their rules, however that does not exonerate these men from their actions, either. Rape is rape, no is no.

In addition - I suspect that this hotel plays this game rather regularly.

It is not unusual for men of power & wealth in the middle east to break restrictions on alcohol and other minor laws, and get away with it. However women do not have such freedom, in that society, and any sex outside of marriage is illegal, and deemed to be the woman's fault (that includes rape.)

[artl68]

Drinking aside,rape is rape.She could have been having a soda or anything else and it could have been spiked.Employer's now days are required to proved a safe work environment ( not counting hazardous work;i e,combat or any place were there is lead flying) for their employees.

But than again it all comes down to the money. Money is more important than some one's well being. Me I rather have my well being than money,and besides if you have good friends,your aleady richer than some one with money and no friends.

[biguycancun]

First: Being a rape victim is NOT adultery. Perhaps a rapist, if married, could be accused of adultery if he rapes a woman, and rape if he rapes his wife, but the victim is guilty of nothing.

Second: I see nowhere that she was judged guilty of the illegal consumption of alcohol, so to drag that into the misogynist drivel posted here is nonsense.

Third: I highly doubt that Starwood did not have a consumption permit for the staff facility, and again, that's not mentioned in the alleged criminal indictment. This may be an effort by the Aussie lawyers to cloud the issue.

In general, in any of the AE members' states, while you need a permit to enter a liquor store to purchase alcohol, the consumption of alcohol in private, including private club facilities, is generally not monitored by AE police.

It is amusing to see permit-bearing young men stationed in front of the liquor stores waiting to take curbside orders from non-licensees. You place your order. The young man walks into the store and purchases your order and then carries it out to your car. You then drive home and enjoy your bottle(s). The police are aware of this activity and don't interfere.

The woman was raped, period. Doesn't matter if she was drunk or sober. To fall back on the "she was asking for it" kind of argument is primative, biased, woman-hating bullshit.

[sammie19]

I saw this on telly the other day. A woman who claims 15 of Gaddafi's soldiers and a senior official raped her after they had apparently been on a bender. After being whizzed away to a secret location she is to be charged for making allegations of rape which are viewed seriously under Libyan law. So seriously that it is she who is to be prosecuted and have her name dragged through the mud. It is little wonder that country has a rebellion on its hands. I am outraged and fear for the woman's safety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9VKnsF9KNM

[Falke]

Thanks for bringing that up Sammie.

This is an issue that needs to be addressed with the middle east in their deplorable treatment of women in their societies. In the first case, regardless of what was going on, the woman did not deserved to be raped. The reply to this is much like saying "Oh well, wrong place wrong time so there was no foul". Sorry, that line of thinking is wrong, as was the fact that she was charged as a criminal for something that was by then out of her control.

[jamieknyc]

As a lawyer, I have to warn everyone that when you visit a foreign country, you are subject to all of its laws, no matter how unjust or barbarous they may be. If you object to the laws of some other country, your remedy is to not go there, but once you are there, being a foreign citizen will not protect you.

[DuckiesDarling]

Oh, I agree with that, Jamie as it's been my stance for a long time, but in this case the unfairness of being jailed for adultery because she reported a rape is what is getting at me. In at least this one thing they do need to come out of the dark ages and realize that rape is not "having sex", it's a choice that is taken from so many women and men around the world. I truly hope this case will at least interest the United Nations enough that they push for a change in the law to allow for things like this rape so that the crime will be reported without fear of being imprisoned for something they had no choice about participating in. But on the other hand, I'm open minded enough to admit that if a change in the law occurs a person who willing engages in sexual intercourse and gets caught could easily cry rape to get out of any penalities.

[Long Duck Dong]

mmm.... ok lets look at the article.....

it doesn't say she was jailed for reporting the rape or the sex with the males... but for adultery...... its being read as as was jailed for adultery cos of the rape.....
shes listed as a Ms, not a Miss.... Miss is a term used to refer to a single and unmarried female.....
was the charges of adultery related to the rape, or were they separate issues.... IE, the lady involved with another person... and that part left out of the whole issue

even if alcohol was available, it doesn't mean you have to drink it..... its in the same class as buying a car, doesn't mean that you have to drive it over the speed limit... unless you want to say the car company is at fault for letting you drive over the speed limit.

the company is responsible for for their end of the bargain for their employees, but if employees choose to act according to their own beliefs and reasoning as to what is right and wrong, that doesn't make the company the ones at fault.... that would be like saying that durex is responsible for you catching a STD, when you choose not to use their condoms.

the UAE is a dry country, they are not a country or people that drink alcohol, so a permit is issued so that some places can cater for the people that do drink and like a drink... that is different from a place that is licensed to sell alcohol to people in other countries such as the us and the uk


would love to hear the whole truth about the issue... not just one article.....

(updated to add link that shows she was illegally drinking and the males were jailed for adultery as well )
new article link (http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/queensland-woman-tells-of-her-jail-hell-in-united-arab-emirates/story-e6frfq80-1226028892697)

[tenni]

We do not know this culture very well and it is more than not quite different than western societies.

What I do know is that the Emirates do not permit alcohol but I found the following out from a friend who worked there. Alcohol was present in the compounds where foreigners live. This hotel may have been one such place where alcohol is present. It was not legal to have alcohol in the wesern compounds but it was there and permitted into the Emirates. Officials knew that alcohol was there but did nothing about it because they needed the foreign workers.

The next part I am not sure if my friend told me this or I am filling in the gaps. Once any situation comes to light publicly about the use of alcohol, the laws of the Emirates come into play with the full force. Whether this double standard type of thing also exists concerning adultery or rape I do not know. Possible though.

[bizel]

i normally don't get involved in political discussions cos i feel there is no point as there's never a satisfactory conclusion and they just get me ratty, but this is one of my pet peeves.

how naive/stupid are we when we think these oil-based countries have so much money and wonderful shopping and fantastic skyscrapers, and you can earn lots of money there, that they are the same as home- they are safe- their laws are as modern. the fact remains, in a lot of these countries, women are considered less valuable than cattle. we have less than no rights, we don't count. we're only useful for breeding. we don't even need to do anything wrong - a finger can be pointed, an accusation made and that is proof enough for them. we need to be better educated on what we can or can not do in ANY foreign country. and it's no good to blame the employer for the result of OUR drinking. when do we start to take responsibility? besides the fact that it was alcohol in a muslim country, even in our local pubs we have to watch our drinks. yes, it does take the fun out of drinking when you can't relax thoroughly, but when you really don't know the people you work with, it is a risk. they are, for all intents and purposes, strangers. i'm not saying rape is ok. it's NEVER ok. what i'm saying is, in countries where we are considered lower than cattle dung, we need to be on guard 24hours a day, 7 days a week. we need to be on our best behaviour and not put ourselves in danger's way. and if we can't trust those around us (good way to tell is, would you trust them with your wallet just after you'd been paid?), then DON'T TRUST THEM!! if we can't follow simple safety rules (which should apply to any country, anywhere in the world - even our own), we shouldn't put ourselves in that situation. and no matter how good the money is!! if we follow all the rules, play safe and still come off worse, THEN we have a right to complain. in these countries, i still wouldn't expect justice though. even when a man rapes a woman in these countries, he's let off. she's the one who can be stoned to death. it is double standards, but that is a fact. don't scream at me, i don't make the rules. i'm just sickened by them.

some of these countries have appalling records of atrocities against humanity. if they are prepared to do this to their own, what on earth makes us think we are immune?? just because we're foreign?

[AidanS57]

I wonder how much preparation of employees is involved when they are going to another country to work? Sounds like she wasn't given the particulars or according to the story posted that she wasn't told the truth about some things. All in all it's a damned shame, and to read that the only reason they weren't charged with rape was that there weren't four Muslim male witnesses kinda makes me wonder if they stand around watching an assault so they can say it was rape or if they actually intercede so no rape occurs?

I feel great sympathy for this young woman and if any of the allegations against the company are true then she is certainly entitled to compensation. Just because she was in another country didn't mean she lost her right to say no and drinking in a staff bar with other employees should not have been that much of a risky proposition. It could have happened if she had a glass of soda or even juice, it didn't have to be in alcohol. I think in the end the real shame is that those men literally got away with rape. They will do it again and thanks to the way this played out they will make sure there aren't any Muslim witnesses around. :2cents:

I do wonder if any of those men can face charges once they return to their native countries? I remember reading an article about someone who did time for killing his wife in Australia and on return to the states he was charged as well.

Aidan