HarassMap Favorite 

Practitioner: 

Date: 

Jan 1 2012

Location: 

Egypt

Acknowledging that sexual harassment is a serious problem in Egypt, the volunteer based organization HarassMap has created a series of strategies -both on site and online- to stamp out the social acceptability of sexual harassment in the country.

The aim of the organization is to convince people to respond to sexual harassment incidents as they do in other actions regarded as not correct. Taking advantage of a society where communal ties are strong, the members of the organization have decided to focus not only on the aggressor but also on the bystander.

By changing perceptions on sexual harassment, HarassMap intends to motivate bystanders to intervene in these situations thus causing immediate consequences for the harasser, at least shame.

The concrete actions can are, in terms of groundwork, talking to people about the seriousness of harassment in the country, dispelling myths and stereotypes and explaining the consequences of these actions;. all this with the intention of motivating them to act in case they presence an act of harassment. The online actions involve the mapping of sexual harassment incidents allowing people to visualize how these things happen, even in the places they would not consider possible.

The final goal of HarrasMap is not only to raise awareness of the problem but to create “harassment free zones” where people, especially women, can count on the support and protection of the community.

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