Judgment for sexual harassment

A man was sentenced to two years in prison and fined LE 2,000 for sexually harassing a woman, an NGO announced Monday.

Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence announced the conviction in a post on Facebook, saying that the accident dates back to 17 July, when a woman was sexually harassed by a 42-year-old man while waiting for a taxi on Nasr street in Maadi.

The woman caught him and screamed, prompting bystanders to apprehend the man and turn him over to the police. One witness saw the whole incident from the beginning. Prosecutors conducted investigation and detained the suspect pending investigations. The trial’s first session was held on 20 October.

The judge ordered the sentence on Saturday, in addition awarding LE 10,000 in compensation to the victim, according to the center.

The center also praised the Egyptian judiciary for protecting women’s rights and called on prosecution and judges to confront the daily harassment that women face.

Last month, during the Eid al-Adha holiday, police said that they received more than 1,000 reports of verbal and sexual harassment across Egypt, typically taking place in public places, malls, movie theaters, beaches and squares.

Activists have long called for amending the Penal Code to punish harassers, whether men or women, with imprisonment and fines.

According to a 2008 study published by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign visitors experienced one or various forms of harassment in Egypt.

Source: egyptindependent.com