NO ONE IS SAFE

Sexual Violence Throughout the Life Cycle
of Detention in Egypt

2015-2022

The following report examines instances of sexual violence in Egyptian prisons from the period of 2015 to 2022. The report finds that Egypt employs abuse in detention as a method to coerce, punish, and bring a population under the control of the state; sexual violence is used as a means of weaponizing social norms on gender and sexuality to further degrade prisoners and their loved ones, as well as to repress the ability to address the impact of abuse through pursuit of accountability or other pathways to healing. Because of social norms and taboos (which are also perpetuated by the State in its laws or institutions) around gender and sexuality, those who have experienced sexual violence in prison face compounded obstacles to addressing the trauma endured.