Egypt's outgoing president on Thursday decreed sexual harassment a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, a much-anticipated move toward combating the abuse deeply rooted in this Mideast country.
The decree was among several last-minute decisions by President Adly Mansour who is to hand over power on Sunday to president-elect, Egypt's former military chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi.
The decree amends the country's current laws, which did not criminalize sexual harassment and only vaguely referred to such offenses as indecent assault.
In Egypt, violence against women in public space has grown over the past three years of turmoil since the 2011 ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
The decree says harassers face between six months to five years in prison, with harsher sentences reserved for offenders holding a position of power over their victims, like being a woman's superior at work or being armed with a weapon.
The decree also defines a sexual harasser as a person seeking to achieve "an interest of a sexual nature," according to presidential spokesman Ehab Badawi. Offenders would be prosecuted whether they commit harassment in public or in private, and repeat offenders would see their sentences doubled, Badawi said.
Along with the maximum five-year sentence, offenders would be fined up to 5,000 Egyptian pounds, or about $714, with the maximum fine reserved for harassers who use a weapon or pressure.Read the rest of the story HERE.
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