It is two weeks since a video showing the mob sexual assault of a woman in Tahrir Square went online, triggering shockwaves across the nation and a series of reactions from the authorities aimed at eradicating what has been described as an epidemic of sexual violence. On Saturday Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat, referred 13 men to criminal trial for the attempted rape and assault of women on 3 and 8 June in central Cairo's iconic square. Prosecutors say they have heard 30 eyewitness accounts, including survivors of the mass assaults who identified the defendants. The swift arrests and referral to trial contrast sharply with the indifference of the authorities towards rampant sexual assaults and harassment — especially during protests — over the last three years. According to rights groups, official complaints of mob assaults filed with the prosecutor since 2011 have been largely ignored. The referrals came four days after President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi visited the mob assault survivor in hospital, presenting her with flowers and offering his apology. The first lady visited the same woman the following day. Al-Sisi has instructed Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb to form a ministerial committee tasked with eradicating the epidemic. There are no details on how far the committee's mandate will extend. Though this flurry of high-level efforts to address the epidemic only took place because of the short video being broadcast the prosecutor also ordered the arrest of the man who filmed it. In a separate case, two men were arrested on Saturday after verbally harassing women taking part in a demonstration in front of Cairo Opera House to protest against sexual assaults. The Qasr Al-Nil prosecution ordered the two men to be detained for four days — the first implementation of the anti-sexual harassment law ratified by outgoing president Adli Mansour two weeks ago. They were referred to trial on Tuesday. Yet at the same demonstration two male protestors were arrested for carrying banners accusing the Interior Ministry itself of sexual harassment. Given the extent of public outrage against sexual violence the demonstration was poorly attended. Only a few dozen turned out, with many would-be protestors opting to boycott the demonstration because of the participation of the government appointed National Council for Women (NCW). Long viewed with suspicion by many feminist and human rights groups, the NCW has been accused of failing to support meaningful efforts to protect women's rights and of always toeing the government line. The NCW'sstatement condemning the assaults in Tahrir following the video's release hinted that the attacks were politically motivated and conducted by “unknown entities” with the intention of distorting the “democratic wedding” — a reference to Al-Sisi's election. On Sunday several feminist, rights and volunteer groups announced the formation of a joint union that will be present during all protests, starting from 30 June. “We still affirm that it is the Interior Ministry's responsibility to secure protests,” said a statement by the coalition, which includes the volunteer groups Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment, Tahrir Body Guard, I Saw Harassment, and Anti-Harassment. “Unfortunately we needed the tragic incident [of the filmed sexual assault] for the state to believe our reports about assaults were not an exaggeration,” says Mustafa Mahmoud a researcher with Nazra, a centre for feminist studies. The government, he added, needs to adopt a comprehensive strategy to address the epidemic effectively, including legislation that addresses all forms of sexual violence. There is currently no law against sexual assault in Egypt. The penal code refers only to harassment and rape, narrowly defining the latter. Measures are also needed to safeguard the privacy of the survivors of sexual violence and of witnesses. Equally important, says Mahmoud, is restructuring within the Interior Ministry to allow the issue to be competently addressed. Currently survivors of sexual violence who report their ordeals to the police face a series of difficult procedures that fail to take their emotional, mental and physical state into account. They must also delay any hospital treatment, no matter how serious the case, until undergoing a forensic examination which is limited to the official working hours of forensic doctors. Magda Ali, the director of Al-Nadim Centre for the Victims of Violence, points out that the official reaction to mob assaults has so far focused only on the case of the woman in the video. To show it is serious about eradicating rampant sexual violence the state has to demonstrate the necessary political will to tackle the problem, says Ali. “We need to hear an apology for all the crimes committed against citizens, from the Mubarak regime till now. Old files of human rights violations must be opened. There have to be investigations and accountability.”
