Parliament Approves Toughening Sexual Harassment Penalties to 5 Years in Prison

On Sunday, Egypt's House of Representatives, during its plenary session, approved a draft bill on toughening penalties on sexual harassment crimes.

The bill, which was approved by the House's Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 27 June, aims to amend Article 306 (paragraphs A & B) of the 1937 Penal Code to change the penalty imposed on assault and sexual harassment crimes from "misdemeanour" to "felony."

The amended Article 306 (Paragraph A) states that "whoever is convicted of assaulting others in public or private places in the form of sexual or pornographic gestures and insinuations, and either in words or action or via electronic, wire or wireless devices or any other technological means (such as cyber sexual harassment crimes) will be sentenced to a prison term ranging from two to five years and a fine ranging from EGP 100,000 to EGP 200,000.

Atef Meghawry, a member of the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, said the amendments aim to stem the tide of sexual harassment crimes through toughening penalties, the most important of which is changing the labelling of the sexual harassment crime from "misdemeanour" to "felony".

"This means that, unlike in the past, offenders will face the penalty of serving prison sentences and not just paying fines," said Meghawry.