sport news Qatar World Cup 2022: FIFA officials tell police not to treat women as ... trends now
Police in Qatar have been instructed not to treat women as criminals if they report rape or sexual assault.
Officers have also been told that pregnant women should ‘not face any accusations’ in a bizarre memo distributed by officials.
In hard-line Qatar, women are second-class citizens who can be blamed or even jailed if they are attacked.
Last year, a female World Cup official was facing a sentence of 100 lashes and seven years in prison for ‘extramarital sex’ after she reported being assaulted while working in the Gulf state.
And pregnant women seeking medical services can be placed under suspicion if they are not married, under Qatar’s strict morality laws.
Now the Mail has obtained an official guidance document from Fifa’s Security and Safety Operations Committee (SSOC) describing how police should respond to various scenarios during the World Cup.
Qatari Police patrol on horseback outside the Lusail stadium ahead of Argentina vs Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, November 22
Two England fans wave flags outside a stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on the day that the Three Lions won 6-2 against Iran
It tells officers: ‘Women will not face any accusations if they report rape or sexual/harassment violence.’
And regarding women who are pregnant and require medical care, it says they should be given care ‘regardless of the circumstances and will not face any accusations’.
Research has shown that the risk of sexual violence rises significantly at major sporting events.
In June last year, Paola Schietekat, 28, from Mexico, was working in Qatar for the World Cup organising committee when she complained of being assaulted by a colleague who broke into her apartment.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino ahead of the Argentina vs Saudi Arabia clash on Tuesday
But when she reported the incident to the Qatari authorities, they responded by accusing her of having an affair and charged her with
