'Stop protecting sexual abusers' demand Algerian women

'Stop protecting sexual abusers' demand Algerian women
Algerian women have rallied behind a fitness blogger whose sexual harassment complaint to police failed to spark action against her abuser.
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Diana Alghoul

Diana Alghoul

04 Jun, 2018
Algerian women have had enough of being blamed for their own assault [Getty]
Algerian women have demanded authorities stop protecting sex abusers, after a fitness blogger's harassment complaint to police fell on deaf ears.

The latest online call for action against sexual harassers to come out of the Middle East and North Africa region has surfaced on Twitter, with women using an Arabic hashtag, translating to "We will no longer protect sexual abusers after today", to voice their frustration.

The discussion on how women are blamed for being victims of their own sexual assault went viral after Algerian blogger Ryma posted a tearful Instagram Story claiming that while she was out at 6pm she was told by a passerby that her "place is in the kitchen".

When she filed a complaint, she was told she should not have been outside to begin with.

The video sparked anger among Algerian women, who said such instances are far too common and far too underdisussed, and shared their own experiences:


Women dispelled the myth that covering up prevents them from experiencing sexual assault:

If anything, it's the most vulnerable girls and women abusers prey on:


They asserted that sharing stories of sexual harassment is not "shameful" nor "immodest":

As more women shared their stories, it showed sisterhood at its finest:

"Women are the future"


Of course, there were men who also got involved, appearing to try to silence the online movement:

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