- Title: Egypt women welcome reforms as parliament tightens sexual harassment penalties
- Date: 18th July 2021
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (JULY 16, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LAWYER AND HEAD OF CAIRO INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND LAW, INTSAR EL SAED, SAYING: "Tightening the punishment of sexual harassment in Egyptian law upgraded it from a misdemeanour to a felony offence. The advantage here, as a result, the period in which the survivor has the legal right to report the case will increase to ten years, as opposed to three years (in case of misdemeanour). On the contrary, it opens the door for the difficulty to prove (the crime) and creating state of sympathy with the offenders, especially in verbal harassment. I'm not trying to overlook verbal harassment, but we need to look at how a punishment is suitable with the crime itself."
- Embargoed: 1st August 2021 14:02
- Keywords: Egypt Parliament Sexual harassment violence against women women women rights
- Location: CAIRO AND GIZA, EGYPT / INTERNET
- City: CAIRO AND GIZA, EGYPT / INTERNET
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Middle East,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA003EMDAHJP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART QUALITY AS INCOMING
While women welcomed Egypt's parliament approval of harsher penalties for sexual harassment last week, some say more reform is needed to curb the practice in a country where women have long felt disadvantaged.
Penalties for sexual harassment and related crimes have been tightened and upgraded to felony offences after the parliament approved a bill submitted by Mostaqbal Watan political party.
Sex crimes have been an increasing topic of conversation in recent years in the conservative, Muslim-majority nation, with several high-profile court cases coming to varying conclusions.
Dozens of Egyptians began posting accounts of sexual assault on social media last year, but campaigners say there remains a deep-rooted bias in Egypt to place more blame on women for behaviour deemed provocative than on men for sex crimes.
Public prosecutors in May shelved a case over a woman's allegation that she was gang raped at a luxury hotel in Cairo in 2014 because of "insufficient evidence" against the defendants.
Referring to earlier laws passed in 2014, a parliamentary committee said in a report that "although the punishments listed were a quantum leap at the time, they did not achieve the necessary deterrence."
Some women showed support for the decision, hoping it would achieve deterrence in a country where sexual harassment has become a reality for them.
Mariam, a 19-year-old university student says she is used to avoid walking in certain places alone, and mostly uses a car for longer commutes to avoid sexual harassment. "This will definitely make a difference," she said.
But rights activists and campaigners fear tightening the punishment for sexual harassment might place more pressure on survivors.
"It opens the door for the difficulty to prove (the crime) and creating a state of sympathy with the offenders, especially in verbal harassment," said Intsar El Saed, lawyer and head of Cairo Institute for Development and Law.
Saed stressed the need for more protection mechanisms of survivors and witnesses, as well as issuing a comprehensive law against all forms of violence against women.
In the measure approved last week, the penalty for sexual harassment was increased from a minimum of one year in prison to a minimum of five years, or a penalty of up to 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($19,100), up from 20,000 pounds.
In situations where a power imbalance was in place because of a professional or familial relationship, or in cases involving the use of weapons or accomplices, the penalty was increased from a minimum of two to a minimum of seven years, in addition to a 10-fold increase of the maximum fine to 500,000 Egyptian pounds.
The penalties for stalking and general harassment were also increased substantially.
In 2020, the parliament approved a law protecting the identity of victims of sexual harassment and assault, after a social media campaign led to the arrest of a suspected sex offender.
(Production: Sayed Sheasha, Mai Shams El-Din) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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