wide study on the phenomenon of blackmailing among Saudis has shown that it is overwhelmingly a matter of young men blackmailing girls, although three percent of the cases involve girls blackmailing young men, and Dr. Yusuf Al-Othaimeen, minister of Social Affairs, stressed the necessity “to strike blackmailers with an iron fist”. The study was conducted by a committee with members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a), the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution and police departments. It found that blackmailing has spread widely in urban areas of the Kingdom, accounting for 66 percent of all cases. Blackmailing cases often involve youths luring girls, taking their pictures, demanding money or sex and threatening to publish the pictures on the Internet or place them at the gates of buildings where the girls live with their parents. The study attributed the phenomena to several factors, most prominent of which are family problems such as conflicts between parents, family breakups and family instability, any of which can lead young people to resort to illicit means of getting the attention they lack. It also showed that satellite channels, abuse of the Internet and abundant leisure time have also contributed to the spread of the phenomenon. Dr. Al-Othaimeen told Okaz/Saudi Gazette, “The punishment for blackmailing is a maximum fine of SR500,000 and imprisonment for a period of up to one year or one of the two penalties.” He pointed out that victims of blackmailing need people to support their grievances. The study proposed several solutions including the need to spread awareness among young men and women about the importance of this matter and the serious effect it can have on an individual's life. The study stressed that families should enlighten their children and strengthen the family bonds between the parents and their children, and between siblings at home. It also stressed the need for specialist centers to educate young people and give them proper guidance in order to combat this phenomenon and prevent its recurrence. The study underlined the need to deal with the phenomenon of blackmailing and the resulting problems by holding special seminars and giving lectures about it.
