Egyptian bad boys

Two-thirds of Egyptian men harass women? | Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Nearly two-thirds of Egyptian men admit to having
sexually harassed women in the most populous Arab country, and a
majority say women themselves are to blame for their maltreatment, a
survey showed Thursday.

The forms of harassment reported by Egyptian men, whose country
attracts millions of foreign tourists each year, include touching or
ogling women, shouting sexually explicit remarks, and exposing their
genitals to women. "Sexual harassment has become an overwhelming and
very real problem experienced by all women in Egyptian society, often
on a daily basis," said the report by the Egyptian Center for Women's
Rights.

Egyptian women and female visitors frequently complain of persistent
sexual harassment on Egyptian streets, despite the socially
conservative nature of this traditional Muslim society.

The behavior could have repercussions on Egypt's tourism industry, a
major foreign income earner, with 98 percent of foreign women saying
they had experienced harassment in the country, the survey said.

The survey of more than 2,000 Egyptian men and women and 109 foreign
women said the vast majority of Egyptians believed that sexual
harassment in Egypt was on the rise, citing a worsening economic
situation and a lack of awareness or religious values.

It said 62 percent of Egyptian men reported perpetrating harassment,
while 83 percent of Egyptian women reported having been sexually
harassed. Nearly half of women said the abuse occurred daily.

Only 2.4 percent of Egyptian women reported it to the police, with
most saying they did not believe anyone would help. Some feared
reporting harassment would hurt their reputations.

"The vast majority of women did nothing when confronted with sexual
harassment," the survey said, adding that most Egyptian women believed
the victim should "remain silent." Continued...