One section of the article claims that:
"The Saudi authorities were interesting in pursuing the perpetrators, but they were more interested in keeping the story quiet and avoid embarrassment."
Later on, the article says that one of the woman who came forward with the issue was deported, possibly to prevent the Saudi police reputation from being "stained." This reminded me of what Rhiannon posted about the government not wanting to cause a "scandal." It seems to me that upholding a good reputation of the Saudi police is getting in the way of them earning the reputation.
The article also talked about how many women would not come forward and seek police help because of the strict Islamic law in Saudi Arabia which has "zero tolerance for any kind of interaction between men and women." The article also says that the women who remain in the prostitution ring are at risk for the severe punishment that is "applied to prostitution in compliance with Saudi law."
In this situation, there doesn't seem to be much hope for those women trapped in Saudi Arabia's prostitution ring. If they come forward, their story may be silenced by the Saudi police more than helped by it, or they may be subject to discrimination because of their relationships with men. If they do not escape the ring, not only will they continue to be sexually exploited, they could be prosecuted under Saudi law.
It really make me wonder how this practice can be stopped. I think one of the only ways to help stop this is increase global awareness to the problem, and try to stop the trade at all ends. Since many of the women are being brought in from other countries, like Morocco, awareness should be spread in these countries to prevent women from being trapped. While Saudi Arabia let's many people into the country to visit Mecca, more needs to be done to make sure sex slaves are not being smuggled in.
