Criminal Justice Response to Allegations of Sexual Violence in Kuwait

Although Kuwaiti Criminal Procedural Code No. 17/1960 explains the role that criminal justice system personnel should play in the pre-trial process of investigating criminal allegations Kuwaiti officials have a large degree of discretion when investigating sexual violence allegations. In fact there is little legal documentation and few guidelines to support the way in which officials handle sexual violence cases in Kuwait. Given this lack of guidance this book examines the response of the criminal justice system to women’s allegations of sexual violence in Kuwait during the pre-trial process. By deriving qualitative data from interviews with personnel from the Kuwaiti criminal justice system the study investigates the characteristics of a complaint of sexual violence that contribute to such a case being sent to court or dismissed. It also explores the perceptions of both sexual violence and its complainants and defendants held by criminal justice system personnel.