MADINAH – Several women started posting pictures on social networking sites such as Twitter of men who pester women on the streets sparking a debate on the effectiveness of the practice. While those who came up with the idea see this defamation as the least reaction that harassers can be confronted with and will be a deterrent to others, opponents of the idea say it is a violation and a cyber crime whose impact extends to the harasser's family and future. This view aroused the anger of supporters of the idea who said the opponents want to protect harassers, Al-Watan daily reported. Several owners of accounts on social networking websites criticized a number of users especially women were posting the pictures of persons they described as harassers. The owners of these accounts considered such acts as a violation of the law. The defamed person has the right to pursue violators legally even if he is a harasser, they said. Rights activist and legal adviser Saeed Al Mastour said publishing the pictures of harassers on social networking websites to defame and get even with them is a crime and the harasser has the right to take legal action against a person who posts his picture even if it is proved that he was harassing her. Defamation in this case should be through the methods specified by the law. Several Twitter users criticized the way the young man's picture was published by the girl despite the mistake he had committed. Adnan Al-Omar, a Saudi national, said the crime is in destroying the man's future and maybe even his family's due to a simple mistake he committed. Marzouq Al-Husseini, also a Saudi national, said such pictures might be exploited to defame others with whom they have personal differences. Sociologist Wala Al-Thaqafi rejected the idea of publishing pictures to publicly shame. “There are methods for punishment, like noting down the car plate number and reporting it to the authorities. The idea of harassment is rejected completely but it should not be dealt with in this way. This causes the whole family to bear the consequences of the actions of a single member.” Khulood Saleh Al-Fehaid said on her Twitter account, “The majority of those who justify not defaming harassers on social networking websites are harassers themselves.”
