ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: UPI
24February2011 12:31pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: CAIRO, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A human rights group says sexual harassment of women is an everyday occurrence on the streets of Cairo and doesn't happen only during a revolution.
In recent years, predatory packs of men have brutalized women at a number of public places, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
Catcalls, fondling, indecent exposure and other forms of sexual harassment by strangers are common, says Nehad Abdul Komsan, head of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, a non-governmental organization that campaigns against abuse.
"There is increasing violence against women in our society," Komsan said.
In May 2005, government security officers were filmed tearing the clothes and pulling the hair of four women at a protest rally.
"After that, we saw dramatic change," said Komsan. "It was like a very clear message that anything was allowed. Women became an open target." (read full report)
