While I was reading this article, reprinted below, I wanted to find more information,not just to support this story but to figure out why its "shadow" resembles the inner workings and connections to Sexual Violence and the many stereotypes, roles and perceptions that being a Woman or Man can carry. Is there any weight that this(Sexual Harassment)has potential to lead to more serious crime of Sexual Violence that Women,Girls and Men face here in the United States and Abroad?
Maybe after reading, it may help You grasp or understand the concept that Sexual Violence against Women is in fact a global issue that we are facing and by becoming aware you can now ask, How can I help? What can I, my family or even my friends do to bring awareness that women are being hurt, minorities are being hurt, that children are being hurt everyday by Sexual Violence?
What has helped me and what I continually have learned is when you start to question or ask questions, you eventually seek out and actually get answers and they in turn, will be in abundance. So get ready !( smile)
Egyptian Center for Women's Rights(check them out here http://ecwronline.org/ ) published a study, a number of developments have helped advance awareness and bring redress closer to the many women who experience sexual harassment.
According to “Clouds in Egypt’s Sky,” ECWR’s study, 83 per cent of Egyptian women and 98 per cent of foreign women report that they have been sexually harassed, and the most common sites of harassment are on the street and public transport. A large number of men – 62.4 per cent – admitted to being or having been perpetrators of sexual harassment.
The study highlighted the differences in perceptions about different facets of sexual harassment. Respondents fell into three categories: Egyptian women, foreign women and Egyptian men.
Foreign women identified the widest variety of forms of sexual harassment. While many Egyptian and foreign women said that women of all categories are subjected to sexual harassment, most men thought that young women are the main victims.
The study’s respondents were shown pictures of women in different modes of dress. Generally, foreign women agreed that the way a woman is dressed does not determine whether she will be sexually harassed. However many Egyptians – more men than women- identified a woman pictured wearing a short sleeved shirt and short skirt, and with her hair uncovered as most likely to be a victim of sexual harassment.
Only 2.4 per cent of Egyptian women and 7.5 per cent of foreign women subjected to sexual violence reported it to the police. Most did not report because they thought that no adequate action would be taken.
The study also found that sometimes police officers mock or harass women who report, and this is a further deterrent. Blaming the victim is common with most other forms of sexual violence all over the world, there is a tendency in Egypt to blame the victim and excuse the assailant. (Sound familiar?)
A number of women did not report the crime to the authorities because they feared that by doing so they may ruin their own reputations.Many women interviewed seemed to agree that the silence needs to be preserved.
(Again! You see common stereotypes, tradition and gender roles that run rampant in communities. Which help perpetuate the general attitude toward responding to violence which is DON'T. What's worse is this"attitude"is taught, becoming a learned behavior, like a passed down oral tradition from family to family, society to society playing the same tune that even we as women who are the most victimized yet held the most accountable for the crimes done against us help uphold the standard of "SILENCE IS BEST")
( Picture from rally 4/18/2009)
About 53.8 percent of men said that women were to blame for being sexually harassed. The reasons they gave were inappropriate dressing, enjoying the attention or initiating the harassment. Some Egyptian women agreed that women bring it upon themselves when for instance they wear tight clothing.
Attitudes towards sexual harassment are beginning to change. In February this year, a bill seeking the introduction of stiffer penalties for sexual offenders was introduced into Egypt’s parliament. The law will also compel police to intervene in cases of sexual harassment. Two widely publicised landmark cases have contributed significantly to the impetus to deal with sexual harassment. In one, a young woman who was groped on the street filed charges against the assailant, who was jailed for three years and fined the equivalent of USD 900. Another man was sentenced to one year in prison for his involvement in a mob attack on some women on a Cairo street. Apart from these two cases there have been a number of arrests of offenders.
Although the steps forward are promising, the study shows that there is a long way to go in changing attitudes that are held by women and men about sexual harassment.
ECWR recommends widespread education to expand the understanding of sexual violence to encompass not only rape, but all forms of verbal and physical violence. The organisation wants police to be trained to respond to sexual harassment and a special reporting centre to be established for victims of sexual harassment.
In 2006, a commercial(Check it out below) was produced to show how visitors are harassed and how it not only effects tourism but the Country,but I think it's truly the local resident women who loose out more everyday.
For more on this story and related articles:
http://observers.france24.com/en/content/20090414-fighting-sexual-harrassment-egypt-women-rights
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/07/29/an-egyptian-mans-views-on-sexual-harassment-in-egypt-2/
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