Guidance

Rape and sexual assault in Bahrain: information for victims

Updated 9 January 2024

If you’ve been sexually assaulted it’s important to remember that it was not your fault. Rape and sexual assault is always wrong – no matter who commits it or where it happens. It is traumatic and it can affect you both physically and emotionally. Do not be afraid to get help.

Disclaimer: This information is provided by the British Government for the convenience of enquirers, but neither His Majesty’s Government nor any official of the Consulate accept liability for any loss or damage which you might suffer as a result of relying on the information supplied. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or legal advice.

Medical information has been provided by The Havens Sexual Assault Referral Centres of Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and The Rowan SARC NI and was accurate at the time of production.

First steps

It is your choice about what you do next, but this information may help you in coming to a decision. The most important thing is to make sure that you are as safe as you can be. You can:

• contact the international emergency number on 999 from a local telephone
• contact your tour operator if you are travelling with one
• contact the British Embassy in Bahrain on +973 17574100 and click on the option for emergency consular services. This number is manned 24 hours a day. Embassy staff will be polite, patient, sensitive and non-judgmental, and can provide information on local police and medical procedures. Anything you tell them will be treated in the strictest confidence. They can contact your family or friends for you if you wish.

It is your choice whether you report the crime or not to the local police authorities. If you choose to report the crime, try to do so as soon as possible, so forensic evidence can be retained. Washing yourself or your clothes may make it difficult for the police to obtain forensic evidence. If you change your clothes, think about taking those you were wearing to the police. You may wish to preserve evidence by retaining items such as condoms, toothbrushes, or texts.

If you want to report the incident to the police in Bahrain

• in order for the crime to be investigated, it does need to be reported in Bahrain. UK Police authorities have no jurisdiction under which to conduct an investigation. However, when returning to the UK, you may wish to report the crime to your local Police Station. If you have a sponsor or a tour operator, they should be able to arrange for someone to support you. If you do not have a sponsor or tour operator or do not wish to discuss the matter with them, the British Embassy will try to send a consular officer or refer you to a local support organisation to assist you
• if you approach the police directly, you can also ask them to inform the British Embassy
• tell the police if you think you have been drugged
• you will not need to surrender your passport whilst any investigation is carried out. However, you might need to provide the officers with a form of identification during your visit at the police station
• insist you get a police report, with a case number. This document is likely to be in Arabic and you will be expected to get your own translation. The British Embassy will be able to provide you with a list of translation companies who have assisted British nationals in the past
• Bahrain is a Muslim country and as such there are several things to note when reporting a rape and/or sexual assault to the police
• sexual relationships outside of marriage are illegal. Therefore, the biggest risk for a survivor who chooses to report a rape and/or sexual assault to the police is the perpetrator filing a counter claim against them. Will they not be in trouble if they report either physical or sexual violence to the police?
• homosexuality is not actually a crime in the Bahrain penal code, but you should be prepared to face officers who may respond as if it is
• drinking alcohol is not a crime, but blatant public intoxication is. Regarding Muslims, a harsher punishment is not applicable and they will be dealt with in the same manner as non-Muslims
• when reporting a rape and/or sexual assault to the police, typically there will be English speaking officers available, but it is not guaranteed. You may wish to consider requesting the presence of an Arabic-speaking Shamsaha Women’s Crisis Advocate to accompany you (details below). There should also be a female police officer available at the police station, but again this is not guaranteed. The police are trained to investigate crimes, not to perform therapy so this environment should be expected
• you will be asked to provide a medical report when reporting in the police station. You will be able to do this by going to a medical centre as soon as possible. In some cases, you may be requested to visit the Salmaniya Hospital to report rape or sexual assault. You should also bring forward any physical pieces of evidence, such as clothing from the crime scene or any pictures, recordings, videos and evidence which will support your case
• a Shamsaha Crisis Advocate would be able to accompany you during your visit at the police station. The Advocate may provide general support, including but not limited to emotional, informational or logistical support

If you do not want to report the incident to the police in Bahrain

It is your choice on whether to report the crime.

• the British Embassy will be able to help you. This includes helping you make arrangements to contact your insurance company, your family, travel back to the UK and/or provide you with information on local support in the UK. They can provide you with lists of English-speaking medical facilities, lawyers and translators
• if you are travelling with one, you can report the incident to your tour operator and ask them for assistance. Where possible and if you wish, the tour operator may accompany you to the local hospital
• if you don’t report the crime, your case may not be investigated if there is a lack of forensic evidence

If you want to report the crime in the UK

It is possible to report the crime to police in the UK. However, it is for foreign police forces to decide whether to investigate a crime in their jurisdiction. UK police forces cannot investigate crimes committed overseas. Foreign police forces can decide to request assistance from the UK police, but this cannot be guaranteed and is a very lengthy process. It can therefore be very difficult to guarantee that any justice can be accessed without reporting the crime locally. Please see Rape and Sexual Assault: Returning to the UK after rape or sexual assault abroad for more information.

You do not have to report the crime when you are in Bahrain, you can report the crime from another country and the Bahraini authorities can be involved through security and judicial cooperation. At this time, the authorities in Bahrain would launch its investigation within its jurisdictions.

If you chose not to report the crime you would still have access to medical care. All citizens and residents have access to medical care and can get examined privately upon their request.

Reporting the crime in Bahrain: what happens next?

Shamsaha’s trained Crisis Advocates may meet with you at the hospital. This is to provide emotional and informational support as well as ensure that your needs are met to the best of the hospital staff’s abilities.

You will be asked if you are able to give a description of the perpetrator and any information on how the crime happened. However if you are unable to do so, this should not impact the process of collecting information that leads to an arrest.

Once the crime is reported to the police, they will make sure that they look for corroboration and gather sufficient evidence that would help in the case. They will also carry out the following:

• confiscate any physical evidence until Public Prosecutions investigate the case. The police will refer you to get a medical assessment to elicit specific details and to prove any signs of injuries through the examination. The judicial authority will then look into the medical reports that have been signed by you following the forensic examination, which is part of the investigation process
• through the investigation process, police officers have the right to go to the crime scene to conduct a detailed search for evidence based and possibly arrest the perpetrator
• it is important to check the identification of both the perpetrator and yourself through CPR/passport numbers

The medical examination: what to expect

Shamsaha’s trained Crisis Advocates may meet with you at the hospital. This is to provide emotional and informational support as well as ensure that your needs are met to the best of the hospital staff’s abilities.

The hospital will be obliged to report the crime and the results of any examination to the police. It is considered a crime not to report a rape or not to provide any medical details related to the medical examination including injuries or damages that were caused by the incident.

Treatment

HIV PEP medication needs to be taken within 72 hours of the incident for it to be effective. The NHS may be able to commence or continue the 28 day treatment on return to the UK.

The emergency/morning-after pill is unavailable in Bahrain. However, birth control pills are available although purchase without a doctor’s prescriptions and\or a marriage contract is possible in some pharmacies but not all. IUDs are also available at most private hospitals.

It is always advisable to consult your doctor before purchasing birth control medications for regular use or for use as an emergency contraceptive (only certain brands). This is to discuss any potential health risks and if it is the right method of contraception for you and your partner.

Emergency contraception needs to be taken within 72 hours of the incident for it to be effective.

If you have had medication administered overseas, you may wish to keep the label or make a note of the name of the medication, so that you let your local health provider know when you return home.

Police investigations: what to expect

Police officers have the right to keep the defendants in detention for no more than 48 hours pending inferences. They will be interviewed by Public Prosecutions during this time. Public Prosecutions will then launch its investigation hearing the account from you, any witnesses and the forensic medical team. They will rely on any other measures that might help to understand what happened at the crime scene and to prove that the defendant committed the crime. Once the investigation is over, the defendant will then be referred for a trial.

Both yourself and your lawyer can attend all the interrogations process and view any documents related to the case and get a copy of these documents. There is no obligation that a lawyer should provide a free legal service. See our list of lawyers.

Once the lawsuit is filed, the Public Prosecution will contact you immediately to notify you of the date of the court hearing and will ask you to attend as a witness, if you do not attend this hearing, the court will re-summon you to attend the hearing. There is no authority to ban you from leaving the country. Taking into account, that according to the Code of Criminal Procedure provides an online hearing sessions, in case those who are involved in the case cannot be present in the court room. This is usually coordinated through the Judicial authority in Bahrain.

Court proceedings: what to expect

In any court proceedings it is not necessary for you to recount the incident again. However, in order to support the investigation process, police officers might require a further interview to clarify a few points.

If you wish to drop the case or amend your statement, the courts will assess the reasoning that was given and decide if there is a need to take the case forward or not, taking into consideration public interests and the safety of people and how the case will impact the society. Charges will not drop automatically based on any changes to the allegations; however the public prosecution can decide to dismiss the case and to refer the defendant to the court to issue a prison sentence or to suspend the prison term. If you decide that your claim is inaccurate, you could be held accountable for false accusations.

Defendants have the freedom to tell their side of the story and what they say will be evaluated in order to make a decision.

A survivor of rape and sexual assault has the right to file a civil lawsuit against the defendant at any stage of the judicial process, asking for a temporary compensation for any monetary damages that were caused by the incident. If the court gets to the conclusion of finding the defendant guilty, then the victim will considered having a valid claim and will receive a temporary compensation for the injury or loss that the victim sustained as a result of the offence; or the matter will be referred to a civil court to assess the case. You would have the right to file a civil lawsuit in order to be entitled to a final compensation in any rape or sexual assault case, the amount will depend on the damage that was caused.

When you return to the UK

You may want to let your GP or a Sexual Assault Referral Centre know what has happened to you so that you can talk about the experience and seek further support and advice.

If you believe you may be at risk of having contracted a sexually-transmitted infection (STI), you should ask your local health provider to test you, even if you have been tested in the country that the assault took place in.

Support Groups in Bahrain

It is your choice to let people know. If you are ready to talk about it the following organisation may be able to help you.

Name of support organisation:

Name	Address	Contact	Services offered
Shamsaha	7th Floor, Harbour Tower-West, Bahrain Financial Harbour, Manama, Bahrain	Hotline number: +973 38447588 (English) +973 66710901 (Arabic); hours of contact and language of service: 24/7, English and Arabic (language requests are possible depending on volunteer availability)	24/7 Crisis advocacy for women survivors of domestic and sexual violence in both English and Arabic. This includes telephone or in-person support. It can take the form of emotional support, informational guidance or logistics. Shamsaha can provide transportation and may accompany women to the hospital, police station, shelter or the courts. And as appropriate they can help with the costs of medical bills, emergency food and/or supplies. Shamsaha Case Coordination provides follow up sessions for clients who need higher level of care following the incident. This can include weekly in-office talk support sessions, legal and therapeutic referrals, career support, long-term goal-setting and planning, budgeting and household management.

Support Groups in the UK

Rape Crises Centre

Rape Crisis Centres provide specialist support and services to women and girls who have experienced rape, sexual violence, or sexual abuse at any time. You can also find out more about Rape Crisis services in your area by calling the National Helpline provided by Rape Crisis South London at 0808 802 9999 (12pm to 2:30pm and 7pm to 9:30pm daily)

Rape Crisis Scotland

Rape Crisis Scotland provides a national rape crisis helpline and email support for anyone affected by sexual violence, no matter when or how it happened. The National Helpline is normally open from 6pm to midnight, 7 days a week, and offers free and confidential initial and crisis support and information. The helpline can also put you in touch with local rape crisis centres or other services for ongoing support. The helpline can arrange for language interpreters if your first language is not English.

Nexus

Offers support, advice and referral for all survivors of domestic and sexual abuse in Northern Ireland. You can contact the Helpline by calling 0808 802 1414, emailing help@dsahelpline.org or by visiting https://dsahelpline.org.

Glasgow & Clyde Rape Crisis

Provides free and confidential support to women and girls who have been raped, sexually assaulted or sexually abused, no matter when this has happened in their lives. We support women whether or not they have reported to the police.

Freephone 08088 00 00 14 Glasgow & Clyde Rape Crisis helpline – 11am to 4pm

National rape and sexual assault helpline: 08088 01 03 02

There are a number of ways to access help and advice, please visit their page to find a way that suits you best.

Survivors UK

Here to help sexually abused men as well as their friends and family, no matter when the abuse happened, and challenge the silence and attitudes.

Telephone: 020 3598 3898

Email: help@survivorsuk.org

Helpline web chat also available – check the website for timings.