PGC2020
Hani Henry: Sexual Harassment in the Egyptian Streets as a Continuing Crisis: A Cultural Perspective
The crisis of sexual harassment (SH) in the Egyptians streets has reached epidemic proportions and has created hazardous conditions for women who cannot walk freely in these streets. This major problem could be explained using feminist theory, which viewed sexual harassment as an aggressive and dominant act of men toward women that served to maintain their subordinate position and punish their competitive efforts. In my presentation, I will provide an overview of a study that was conducted with self-professed male harassers. This study added cultural depth to feminist theory’s explanation of sexual harassment by highlighting the roles of participants’ strict interpretations of religious texts and experiences of societal oppression in justifying this act. Further, I will briefly discuss a study I conducted with Egyptian women and demonstrate how they could use empowerment principles to resist this societal epidemic. Finally, recommendations for mental health professionals and policy makers who design intervention and prevention programs for SH will be provided.
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