Fighting
discrimination in all its form is one of the most important principles approved
by Nations; and discrimination based on gender and sex is one of them, whereas
the Egyptian constitutional legislator affirmed to eliminate discrimination as
its clearly shown on the provisions of the following articles:
Article 11:
The State ensures the achievement of equality between
women and men in all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in
accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The State is committed to
the protection of women against all forms of violence, and to ensure the
empowerment of women to reconcile family duties and work requirements. The
State also is committed to provide care and protection of motherhood, childhood
and women-headed households and the elderly and women most in need.
Article 53:
Citizens are equal before the law, they are equal in
rights and freedoms and duties, without discrimination because of religion, or
creed, or gender, origin, race, color, language, or disability, or social
status, or political or geographic affiliation, or any other reason.
Discrimination and incitement to hatred is a crime punishable by the law. The
State is obliged to take the necessary measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination,
and the law regulates the establishment of independent commission for this
purpose.
Article 80:
Any citizen who did not reach 18 years old, is a
child. And every child has the right to a name and identification papers, and
free compulsory vaccination, and health care and family or alternative family,
and basic nutrition, and safe haven, and religious education, and affection and
cognitive development.
The State guarantees the rights of children with
disabilities and their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. The sate
is committed to the state child welfare and protection of all forms of
violence, abuse and ill-treatment and sexual commercial exploitation.
Every child has the right to early education in the
childhood Center until the age of six, and prohibits child labor before
surpassed the age of completion of basic education, also prohibits the
operation in business by being at risk. The state is also committed to create a
special legal victims and witnesses system for children. The child may not be
held criminally accountable or detained, except in accordance with the law and
for the period specified therein.
The state is committed to provide the child with legal
assistance, and be held in suitable places and separate from the places of
adults detention, and the state works to achieve the best interest of the child
in all procedures taken towards the child.
Article 89:
Prohibits all forms of slavery,
oppression and forced human beings exploitation, and the sex trade, and other
forms of trafficking in human beings, the law criminalizes all this.
Based on the above and in order
for the above-mentioned articles of the Constitution to become a law. the
Egyptian legislator has issued several legislations which include
criminalization of various forms of violence that based on gender or sex and we
state the followings:
First, the Egyptian penal code:
The legiselator addressed Sexual
Assault crimes in Part four of the third book of the Penal Code under the title
(Indecent Assault and Corruption of the Morals) in articles 267 to 279 of the
Penal Code. Which include the following crimes: Woman rape, , sexual assault,
indecent exposure, adultery, violation of the sanctity of public ethics.
The penalty of rape is life
imprisonment or aggravated imprisonment ,unless accompanied by an aggravating
circumstance.
The penalty reach to life
sentence in the following cases:
1 - If
the perpetrator is a blood relative
2 - If the perpetrator of the persons
entrusted with her upbringing or guardianship.
3 - If the perpetrator works for
the victim or was a servant to any of the aforementioned.
Whereas Article 290 of the same
Act aggravated the penalty of rape if it was accombined with abduction.
Second, anti-prostitution law:
The law stipulated in its first
Article:
A-
If a man or a
woman is induced to commit lewdness or
prostitution through coercion, threat, or deception, the penalty of the
perpetrator shall be imprisonment for not less than one year and not exceeding
three years.
B-
If the victim
of the said crime has not attained complete twenty one years of age, the period
of the penalty shall be imprisonment for not less than one year and not
exceeding five years.
Third: Child Law
Article 116 bis stipulated the
followings:
The minimum penalty decreed for
any crime shall be doubled if the crime is committed by an adult against a
child, or if it is committed by one of the parents, or by one of the child’s
guardians, or by people in charge of supervising or upbringing the child, or by
those who have authority over the child, or by a servant to any of the above
mentioned.
Fourth:
The anti-trafficking law
This law was enacted in 2010 and
its provisions conformed to the standards of the International Human Rights Law.
A precise definition of the human trafficking's crime has been established and stated the Irrelevance of the consent of
the victim, and the right to compensation and established a fund to help the
victims. It also identified the duties borne by the State towards them and established
a coordinating committee for combating and preventing trafficking in human
beings. Whereas the law stipulated the
deterrent penalties ranging from aggravated imprisonment and life imprisonment.
Fifth: Harassment Law
The anti harassment
law issued last year following the increase of the harassment incidents in the
Egyptian society. A deterrent penalties to that phenomenon were drafted, Which
resulted a noticeable decline in committing those crimes. The law criminate accosting others in a
private, public, or frequented place with acts, gestures, or suggestions that
are sexual or obscene, verbally, physically or through other non-verbal means
or actions, including modern means of communication. the penalties of such acts
are ranging from imprisonment from one year to five years.
Egypt has also ratified and joined many international conventions, which
are an integral part of the national applicable laws in Egypt, such as:
§ The Slavery Convention of 1926
§ 1935
Protocol
§ Supplementary
Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and
Practices Similar to Slavery.
§ Convention for
the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the. Exploitation of the
Prostitution of Others (1951)
§ The Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees and its Amended Protocol
§ Prevent and suppress and punish
trafficking in Persons and protocol especially women and children supplementing
the United Nations Convention to Combat Transnational Organized Crime
§ The Optional Protocol on the Sale of
Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
§ The United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child
§ The International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
·
Services provided to the victims of those
crimes :
1. Medical Center
for recovery at the National Bank Hospital: provides medical and psychological services to
improve the physical and mental health of the victims
2. Regional
shelter Center for recovery and re-integration of girls and women: is the first shelter for women and girls Victims
in Egypt and aims to rehabilitate the victims and integrate them into society
and bring them back to their home countries if they are non-Egyptians
·
Dealing with victims:
Dealing with victims requires special skills by the investigator during
the investigation and to provide the necessary protection for victims or
witnesses, and this is achieved through several Principles to be followed when
dealing with them and they are summarized in the followings:
§ Dealing with the victim in a decent and
impartially way and without prejudgments
§ Provide clear and correct information to
the victim during the initial investigations
§ Respect the victim's right to privacy
§ Ensure the safety of the victim and her
family
§ To provide material, social, legal and
medical assistance in a manner prescribed by the law
§ Victim to be treated with respect and to protect
her dignity
There are also criminal procedures to be followed:
§ Protecting the victim and her family
during the suspect's imprisonment
§ Prompt commencement of the investigation
with the victim. And to create a relaxing, friendly ambiance during the
investigation and not prolong the investigation's session. It is also possible
to offer the victim drinks or Food & to wait for the right time for him/her to give his/her statement without any pressures
and to develop trust between the victim and the investigator
§ Provide financial assistance through the
Prime Minister's victims assistance fund
§ Not to refer the victim to the forensic Medicine
unless the investigation required that. Taking into consideration to maintain
secrecy of the results
§ provide protection and security to the
victim during the trial, if necessary...
