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Taharrush jamaʿi (Template:Lang-ar taḥarrush jamāʿī, Egyptian pronunciation taḥarrush game'a, lit. "collective harassment") is a type of sexual harassment and sexual assault of women by groups of men on the street that may involve rape, beating and name-calling, groping, sexual invitations and robbery. The assault usually happens under the protective cover provided by large gatherings or crowds, typically mass events, including protests, rallies, concerts, or public festivals).

The general term Taharrusch and further combinations like Taḥarrush el-ginsy (Template:Lang-ar Sexual harassment) have played a controversial role in Egypt since the political turmoils in the 2000s. In the beginning, Egyptian security forces have been blamed to use sexual harassment on female activists and participants of public demonstrations and rallies. The behavior has however spread and being used by crowds of young men to harass female persons in the public space.

Terminology and Background in Egypt

Till 2006, the term El taḥarrush mainly referred to the molestation of minors and young people. Already during the Egyptian constitutional referendum, 2005 female activists reported cases of being harrassed by police personal and hired agents provocateurs during demonstrations and rallies. Tarrush then started to be used as a political means. On the Eid al-Fitr holiday in 2006, a crowd of young men harassing women and girls in the inner city after they had been denied access to a local cinema gained notoriety in Egyptian social media. A study provided by an Egyptian NGO (and partially funded by the EU) described various forms of Tarrash and introduced the term Taḥarrush el-ginsy, sexual harrassment including group related incidents.

2008 a local movie maker, Noha Rushdie was the first woman to win a court case against a molestor. The movie 678 in 2010 was the first to show various forms of Tarrush in Egypt in cinema. The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 saw an enforcement of the use of sexual harrassment as a means of denying women and female activists access to public spaces and rallies. and as a well a larger counter movement by NGOs and women's organizations. The counter strategies involved have been discussed in research papers. Some Taharrsuh related incidents made national news in Egypt and gained notoriety on social networks. After March 9, 2011, a day after International women's day, some feminist activists arrested during a rally on Tahrir-square were forced to have their virginity inspected. Mobile phone videos like the Blue Bra or Tahrir Girl, (Sit al Banat in Arab), an unknown person covered in an abaya and undressed in Cairro went viral. The phenomenon first came to the attention of Western media after an instance of an Egyptian taharrush jama'i attack hit headlines when a prominent female foreigner, CBS reporter Lara Logan, was assaulted by hundreds of men in Cairo's Tahrir Square during her reporting of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.

During the reign of Mohammed Mursi government, the incidents became even more violent. A gathering of women survivors of such treatment on the eve of of the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution (on 25 January 2013) meet at Cafe Riche (Talaat Harb close to Tahrir square) concluded to start a larger political initiative. They managed to gain support from a variety of NGOs and political parties against the use of sexual harrassments by the police forces. Lamis El Hadidy, a well known TV anchorwoman and political analyst used the topic in a TV emmission in February 2013. A first attempt to change the penal law, supported e.g. by Amr Hamzawy failed.

A working paper of the Institute of Development Studies (a research charity affiliated to the University of Sussex) describes the phenomenon, the legal situation and the answers in civil society. After a further 2014 incident made news, on the Cairo University College of law, a woman had been harassed by a large group of men and had to be escorted to safety by the police, the Egyptian penal law has been partially adjusted.

Occurrence

Europe

A North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Justice report described "taharrush gamea" as the Arabic term for a modus operandi that it described as a form of group sexual harassment that takes place in crowds, comparing the 2015 New Year's Eve Cologne incident to incidents that took place in Cairo's Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Reports by the North Rhine-Westphalia interior ministry and the German Federal Criminal Police Office attributed the New Year's Eve sexual assaults in Germany to the practice. The perpetrators were said to have been "almost exclusively" of "North African and Arab" recently arrived migrant background.

Finnish migration authorities informed Helsinki police and made them aware of planned Taharrush attempts before New years eve 2015. Similar to Cologne, a large crowd of (about 20.000) people, including about 1.000 refugees gathered around the Helsinki Central station and the Senate square in Helsinki. The police was present with a massive force and arranged for a dozen of preliminary arrests in refugee's asylums. Compared to Cologne, the whole event went quite peaceful and without larger incidents, a further dozen of men has been arrested during the night but were set free the day after.

According to Russian author and pundit Yulia Latynina, "Taharrush is a new social phenomenon when visitors of Europe commit violence against European women in crowded places"

See also

• HARASSmap
• Operation Anti Sexual Harassment
• Gang rape
• Eve teasing
• Rape culture
• 678 (film)

References

1. "Sexual Violence in Egypt: Myths and Realities".
2. Lutz, Martin (10 January 2016). "Sexuelle Belästigung: Das Phänomen "taharrush gamea" ist in Deutschland angekommen - DIE WELT". Die Welt (in German).
3. "Игра "тахарруш": откуда могло прийти новогоднее насилие в Кельне" (in Russian).
4. ^ Abdelmonem, Angie (2015a). "Reconceptualizing Sexual Harassment in Egypt: A Longitudinal Assessment of el-Taharrush el-Ginsy in Arabic Online Forums and Anti-Sexual Harassment Activism" (pdf). Kohl: A Journal for Body and Gender Research. 1 (1): 23–41. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
5. Abdelmonem 2015a, see abstract: Data showed overwhelming public concern in the region about the molestation and rape of children until 2006
6. ^ "Clouds in Egypt’s Sky: Sexual Harassment: From Verbal Harassment to Rape", ECWR Report, 1998, Hassan, Rasha, Shoukry, Aliyaa & Abul Komsan, Nehad. Quoted at Abdelmonem 2015a egypt.unfpa.org
7. Abdelmonem 2015a, p. 26, references to Amar 2011; Ilahi 2008
8. Abdelmonem 2015a, p. 26
9. Viktoria Kleber: Frauen in Ägypten: Mit Crowdsourcing gegen sexuelle Übergriffe. (Women in Egypt: With crowd-sourcing against sexual attacks) in: Zeit Online 2011-08-17, access date: 2016-01-13
10. Vickie Langohr (2015-02-01). Women's Rights Movements during Political Transitions: Activism against Public Sexual Violence in Egypt. International Journal of Middle East Studies. Vol. 47. pp. 131–135. doi:10.1017/S0020743814001482. ISSN 1471-6380. Retrieved 2016-01-12.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
11. compare Testimony from a Survival of Gang Rape on Tahrir Square Vicinity. in: Nazra.org 2013-01-26, access-date: 2016-01-13 (Englisch)
12. Abdelmonem, Angie (10 November 2015b). Reconsidering de-politicization: HarassMap’s bystander approach and creating critical mass to combat sexual harassment in Egypt. Égypte/Monde arabe. ISSN 1110-5097. Retrieved 2016-01-12. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
13. Tadros, Mariz. 2014. Reclaiming the Streets for Women’s Dignity: Effective Initiatives in the Struggle Against Gender-Based Violence in Between Egypt’s Two Revolutions. IDS Evidence Report 48, Institute of Development Studies with the University of Sussex, quoted at Abdelmonem 2015b
14. "The Arabic gang-rape 'Taharrush' phenomenon which has spread to Europe". Mail Online. 12 January 2016.
15. ^ Tadros, Mariz. 2013b. Politically Motivated Sexual Assault and the Law in Violent Transitions: A Case Study From Egypt. Institute of Development Studies, opendocs.ids.ac.uk
16. Abdelmonem 2015a, p. 34, referring to Mada Masr. “Victim Blamed After Sexual Assault at Cairo University.” Mada Masr, 3-18-2014. 2014. madamasr.com
17. ^ "Cologne attackers were of migrant origin - minister". BBC News. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
18. ^ Lutz, Martin (10 January 2016). "Das Phänomen "taharrush gamea" ist in Deutschland angekommen". Die Welt. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
19. "Naisten joukkoahdistelu "taharrush gamae" nousi otsikoihin Saksassa: "Yritettiin kokeilla, meneekö läpi tällainen"" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
20. "Sex-Übergriffe an Silvester auch in Finnland". Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
21. "Тахарруш по-российски". Новая Газета.

• Arabic words and phrases
• Sexual harassment