With the 2022 FIFA World Cup set to be held in Qatar, it looks like the safety of female football fans is at high risk if they are raped during the showpiece event. The Arab country’s strict Islamic code outlaws all sexual contact between unmarried couples and even rape victims are taken to court, where they are handed sentences from seven years in jail to flogging.
According to The Sun, May Romanos (an expert from Amnesty International) said, “You go to the police, and instead of being the victim, you become the accused”.
Meanwhile, The Detained’s Radha Stirling added, “The UAE has a long history of penalising rape victims.”
LGBTQ+ groups are also at risk in Qatar with Lou Englefield of Football v Homophobia revealing, “I know of no European LGBTIQ supporters’ group, or individual supporters, who are currently planning to attend this World Cup. The position of the Supreme Committee is just not in keeping with the undertakings they must have given to Fifa. How can an international sporting event which expects millions of visitors not be open to reassuring a large minority group who have well-founded fears that they will be safe and welcome? We have never seen anything like this.”
Also in a letter to the Human Rights Sports Coalition, FIFA’s Joyce Cook, former chief social responsibility and education officer wrote, “Based on our engagement with the relevant Qatari authorities, and following existing government guarantees, and the event-specific legislation, as well as our experience of hosting other events in Qatar, Fifa is confident that persons identifying as LGBTIQ+ will not face any repercussions based on the above mentioned legal provisions.”
In the past, football stadiums have become scenes of sexual assault during tournament. During Euro 2020, there were 72 sex attacks reported in Brent, North London when the semis and finals were played at Wembley.