I thought Dubai was the safest place in the world… I can’t believe I was so foolish. So many are lured by the glamorous lifestyle but the night I was attacked, and what happened when I tried to get help, prove its dark side
The writer says she once believed Dubai’s reputation for safety meant she could walk home alone at night without concern. She describes being sexually assaulted by a stranger while walking through Bur Dubai after failing to find a taxi, and reflects that low levels of petty theft had led her to underestimate the possibility of serious violence.
The attack happened after 11pm on Mankhool Road, when a man tried to trip her, followed her and pulled her off the pavement. She escaped by screaming and freeing herself; he ran away, and she later noticed that he had scratched her chest and torn her tights. The account challenges the assumption that a city’s reputation for safety guarantees personal security.
- The writer was sexually assaulted while walking home in Dubai.
- She says the city’s safety reputation left her less cautious.
- She escaped, but the attack changed how she viewed walking alone.