This year's Sham al-Nessim holiday has seen a marked decline in sexual harassment against women reported in downtown Cairo, although the initiative's observers have encountered 28 cases of verbal sexual harassment, Shoft Taharosh (I saw harassment) initiative said in a report on Tuesday.
Teams of volunteers have been monitoring downtown Cairo, including Tahrir Square and Abdel Moneim Riad Street. They have spotted thousands of people, mostly male teenagers, celebrating Sham al-Nessim since early morning of Monday, the statement said.
The ratio of males compared to females was 5:3, it added.
The volunteers intervened in 28 verbal sexual harassment cases and 2 other physical sexual harassment cases.
Mass sexual harassment attempt was spotted on Qasr al-Nil bridge on Monday evening, as six teenagers encircled two girls. The volunteers rescued the girls, according to the Shoft Taharosh report.
Female police were completely absent throughout the day in downtown Cairo. Women who have been harassed refused to take legal action against the harassers, as they were afraid of public shame, said the report.
The report called on the Interior Ministry to coordinate with the judicial authorities to develop a new mechanism to file claims against harassers on the scene of the incident, without the need to head to a police station.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
