The head of the National Council for Women (NCW) Maya Morsi said Saturday that the Women's Complaints Bureau and its follow-up committee will be operating a help center to receive harassment reports from women during the spring celebrations of Sham el-Nesim.
A NCW campaign will receive complaints of sexual harassment against women and monitor cases of harassment during the day to provide rapid intervention in support of victims of sexual harassment.
Morsi stressed that this campaign aims at continuing cooperation with the Interior Ministry's unit for combating violence against women.
The lawyers of the Women's Complaints Bureau will join forces with the police during the security campaigns to combat sexual harassment; they will help the victims in case they opt to file lawsuits with the police.
The Women's Complaints Bureau and the help center will receive complaints of sexual harassment through the following numbers: 011157525600, and 15115.
Some anti-harassment initiatives, including Equality for Development Studies Foundation, called upon all women to go out and enjoy their personal lives, without any fear or undue caution, and rather, resort to taking all measures to confront any perpetrators of sexual harassment and bring them to justice.
The 2014 Constitution included more than 20 articles specifically addressing the protection of Egyptian women; most notably Article 11, which stipulates that "the state is committed to protecting women from all forms of violence," according to the NCW statement.
National holidays in Egypt have become associated with a peak in sexual violence and incidents of mass harassment and rape.
A study by UN Women in 2013 found that 99.3 percent of Egyptian women and girls reported having been subjected to verbal or physical harassment.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
