Saudi police are searching for a man and his son in connection with the rape and torture of a Filipino woman in Turaif, a small city in northern Saudi Arabia.
The victim, who is believed to have been sexually assaulted by her employer’s son, has been rescued and is currently in custody at the Philippine Embassy.
The embassy said that it learned of the case only on July 8.
Ezzedin Tago, the Philippines ambassador, refused to share more information about the case.
The victim, who has not been identified, is now staying at the embassy’s Bahay Kalinga temporary rescue shelter, said the embassy in a statement on its website.
She was immediately turned over to embassy officials after her complaint was filed with the police.
The statement said the employer and his son are on the run and their whereabouts are not known.
The statement added an embassy team went to Turaif in northern Saudi Arabia to verify reports that the woman was raped and to rescue her.
The team arrived at the employer’s house on July 10 accompanied by Turaif police.
Officers forcibly entered the house and secured the woman who expressed happiness at her rescue, said a Filipino community leader who is closely following the case.
He, however, said the victim was saddened the case had gone public.
He requested Arab News not to identify the girl.
The embassy also reminded Filipinos in the Kingdom and their families in the Philippines to refrain from publishing sensitive information through social media platforms or other means regarding such cases as it may prejudice any ongoing investigations.
In another similar and recent case, a Filipino woman who was raped by her employer’s two sons was able to escape, only to be captured again by a prostitution den in the Eastern Province.
Several cases of sexual assaults were reported in 2011 and during the first half of 2012.
Seventy percent of Filipino domestic workers suffer physical and psychological violence, claims a study released by the Philippine’s Committee on Overseas Workers Welfare.
In recent years, the Philippine embassies in Arab countries and other government agencies have collected hundreds of testimonies of young women and men tortured and abused in their workplaces.
Since Nov. 3 last year, the Philippines and Indonesian governments have been trying to reach agreements with Arab states including the Kingdom to guarantee a minimum wage and more protection from abuse for their migrant workers.
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