Women who report rape in the UAE risk being accused of, and are routinely imprisoned for, committing Zina- adultery and fornication in Islam. The country abides by Sharia Law, which punishes sex outside of marriage with prison time and even flogging.

Many of the jailed women are pregnant, or are migrant domestic servants who left their country to work for an employer, reports The Guardian. Some of the women who report being raped only to face prosecution and imprisonment are UAE residents, but the majority are domestic servants to wealthy citizens.

The situation is more common than not, according to Amnesty International researcher Drewery Dyke. “Rape victims have been accused of having engaged in illicit sexual relations, while the rape allegations themselves have been left uninvestigated,” he said.

An unmarried, pregnant woman accused of “illicit sex” must prove she was raped with four male witnesses who confirm her story, or a confession from the rapist. Without proof, women accused of Zina are customarily sentenced to months or years in prison.

Many women in the UAE avoid reporting that they have been raped for fear of imprisonment.