Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Sexual Harassment in Egypt

By David Simms, Senior Contributor

Sexual harassment in Egypt has reached such a degree, it is now considered the hotbed of the world for this behaviour. For years it has been an ongoing problem for multitudes of women.  Some areas of the country are worse than others but it appears to be a cultural problem that is found everywhere there. Men are brought up to disrespect women and now with the internet and social media, it has opened a whole new level of harassment that women must deal with on a daily basis. It is so common especially in Egypt’s large cities that law enforcement has become callous toward the problem. Traditionally the most typical offense is the groping of women in public however the problem is the result of a larger disrespect that is ingrained in men from a young age.  Now with social media access, the same mind-frame has extended to harassment online through posting of photos and video of women being assaulted. However some women are fighting back.  There is a relatively new website that maps out hotspots where harassment is likely to occur based on compiled data.  The site is called HarrasMap and is updated regularly by women reporting on the offenses made on them.