Led by the courageous situation of one of the victims, a series of crimes committed by an employee in Cairo International Airport were revealed and led him to Public Prosecution which sentenced him to three years of imprisonment for taking photographs to female travelers in a way that invaded their privacy.
Despite the support the victim received after she took the situation she underwent to the public through social media in order for her voice to be heard, many social media users from females described how hesitant they feel when they are subject to similar situation to take a step forward towards revealing it or taking an action against the assaulter.
Psychological analysis of the incident
According to Dr Ali El-Nabawy, psychiatrist, the way the airport incident was reported could be considered a “positive reaction” since the victim took out what she underwent and let out what happened which made her at a less risk of suffering from any psychological symptoms because of the incident.
El-Nabawy added to “Trendify” that what the criminal committed in this incident was encompassed under the umbrella of mental disorders according to the American Classification of sexual immaturity disorders that require punishment. “Punishment like imprisonment here serves as a proper psychological treatment to such cases”.
The use of social media in reporting the society’s positives and negatives could be judged as one of the benefits of the digital era, El-Nabawy mentioned. “Social media both directly awards or punish the one whose action is revealed and indirectly raises awareness of the worthy praise or shame actions”.
What should girls do in similar situations?
Dr Hala Hammad, psychiatry consultant, said that every girl should acknowledge her rights and privacy requirements, whereby she should not stay quiet whenever she is subject to sexual harassment since a positive situation adopted by one girl would serve as a deterrent to other sexual harassers.
The girl who shot the video because of the airport incident was courageous and appealed to the public because “our community is intolerant to sexual harassment. So, once the first step is taken by the victim she will find support and this is what every girl should know and believe in when she undergoes a similar situation”, Hammad added.
“When a girl undergoes such a situation while she is alone, I wouldn’t recommend taking defensive action against the assaulter but trying to cite it and report it to the authorities”, Hammad mentioned. Moreover, Egyptian girls should rely on the past experiences that ended in positive action from the authorities like the airport employee who got a sentence within a few days.
Hammad added to “Trendify” that the recent incidents highlighted how bringing them to the public in the right way could lead to desired fair results. Some girls might feel guilty in the post-trauma period. However, they should acknowledge their rights, receive support from their surroundings and look forward to going back to their normal lives after reporting what they have been through.