WUNRN
Egypt -Women Confront Cyber Sexual Harassment
Volunteers from an anti-harassment group
called "Harassing the Harasser" detain a young man after a girl
claimed that he was sexually harassing her, during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in
central Cairo. Photo: REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih
Amr Abdelatty - April 26, 2015
CAIRO — Thanks to the widespread use of
mobile devices and social media, sexual harassment is no longer confined
to a direct physical encounter between the harasser and the victim.
Through a phenomenon called "cyber sexual harassment," the
harasser can now reach potential victims in their homes.
Cyber sexual harassment
is defined as the use of electronic means of communication to send
messages or images, many times of a sexual nature, to threaten or insult the
recipient. Sometimes, the harasser will threaten to use and manipulate the
recipient's photos and share them online, or even use their photos without
their consent.
Egyptian women facing cyber sexual
harassment are now organizing against the phenomenon.
One woman who was on the receiving end of such harassment told Al-Monitor, on
condition of anonymity, that she had received "messages from
harassers including immoral expressions. Sometimes, the harasser would share
content from my Facebook page, along with humiliating and offensive
comments."
She added, "I dedicated an album on my
Facebook page to this cause under the name 'Expose Facebook
Harassers!' The album contains screenshots of the messages that the
harasser was sending me, or insulting comments on my page including offensive
words." The album contains photos documenting various instances
of harassment faced by this woman and her friends.
She hoped that this method of fighting back
against online harassers who hide behind keyboards would spread among her
friends. Meanwhile, the Egyptian public is working to counter the
phenomenon of cyber harassment by making public the messages they receive from
harassers, in an attempt to shame them and
raise awareness among women. In their view, this form of
harassment is no less dangerous than street
harassment. Women are thus encouraged to tarnish the reputation of
their cyber harasser — a method that has received broad support among the
source's peers, both male and female.
"What is difficult about facing such
harassment," said the source, "is that a large number of accounts of
Facebook harassers are fake and are closed a while later. The harassers have
several accounts that they use to practice cyber sexual harassment."
The Facebook page "Al-Araby al-Marid,"
(Sick Arab) attempts to expose sexual harassers by posting their comments and
messages, as well as their Facebook friend requests that include sexual
offers. Many women who have been sexually harassed online use this page as
an outlet.
Writer Jihad al-Tabii's book, “Mozza
Inbox” — with "mozza" meaning sexy — depicts the
cyber harassment experienced by her and her friends.
“While girls refrain from taking to the
streets, and hide their beauty with unattractive clothes, they are now facing
harassment while at home through their phones. Cyber sexual harassment is
not only targeting girls but also guys, albeit in smaller numbers. The harasser
usually seeks to get a wife, relationship or paid sexual affairs,” she told Al-Monitor.
“Many people don’t consider offensive
messages, words and pictures sent to girls on social media as harassment.
Complaints against these messages are entertaining somehow, and some people
blame girls who post their personal photos on social media and are available
online until late hours for the harassment they face. It is as though the
Internet has become the street, and girls surfing it are subject to the
harasser’s desires, doubts and invasion of their freedom,” Tabii said.
On why she decided to write "Mozza
Inbox," Tabii said, “Many books that tackle harassment discuss it
from a scientific point of view and address researchers and people interested
in the topic. But, in my book, I talk about cyber sexual harassment
sarcastically, and I illustrate my ideas with real life stories that my friends
from both genders and I have lived. The book lures young men and women who care
about this issue, and that is why I chose a word ["mozza"] that they
often use in their online chats as a title.”
Monica Ibrahim is the communications
manager of the Harass Map initiative, which was established in
December 2010 to mobilize Egyptians to reject sexual harassment. She talked
to Al-Monitor about the efforts of civil society organizations to face
cyber sexual harassment. The Harass Map initiative seeks to start
conversations on the issue of harassment and encourage people to stop
making excuses for the harassers.
“In addition to focusing on raising awareness
and facing harassment that girls undergo on Egyptian streets, we have
taken interest in cyber sexual harassment and dedicated a week to receive
Facebook messages and photos sent to girls containing sexual demands and insinuations. We posted some
on our Facebook page, while others weren’t posted as they included highly
insulting photos and words,” Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim added that Harass Map offers women
judicial support in case they decide to pursue legal action against their
harasser.
Sexual harassment is no longer restricted to
the streets. It now threatens women in the comfort of their homes as
they browse social media sites. What’s more, the phenomenon is no longer
restricted to women — it now affects men, albeit not as frequently.
With the increase in cyber sexual harassment cases, society must confront
these perpetrators who hide behind their screens.