A misdemeanor court in Cairo’s Mokattam district on Tuesday acquitted a man of verbally harassing a young woman on public transport on the Maadi Ring Road in February, in what became known as the “girl on the bus” case.
The case drew wide attention not only because of a video of the incident that circulated online, but also because of criticism of media coverage that feminist groups said discredited the complainant and normalized harassment.
The incident came to public attention through a video in which the woman appealed to bus passengers for help against a man she accused of harassing her. He denied the accusation, and prosecutors later released him on bail of 1,000 Egyptian pounds pending investigation.
Prosecutors later referred the defendant to trial after the woman filed a police report accusing him of using “sexual words offending public decency.”
According to a statement from the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, investigations requested by the Public Prosecution supported the woman’s account and found that she had been subjected to verbal harassment by the defendant, a metalworker at the BRT bus station beneath Al-Baron pedestrian bridge.
Following the incident, news websites published headlines questioning the victim’s mental health, then later changed them after a backlash, prompting 11 feminist institutions and initiatives to criticize what they described as “parallel media trials” of harassment victims.
The groups said some coverage of the incident, which topped online trends on Feb. 8, went beyond breaching professional standards and helped “provide cover for violence” by focusing on the victim’s mental state and personal details unrelated to the alleged crime, turning the abuse into fodder for doubt and defamation.
They also warned against media and social media campaigns that “justify sexual harassment and blame victims,” calling such rhetoric a “blatant violation” of the rights of women and girls and an “undermining” of efforts to combat gender-based violence in Egypt.
The groups urged the National Council for Women to act publicly and decisively by issuing a clear statement rejecting any rhetoric that excuses or minimizes harassment, and by launching a sustained campaign stressing that perpetrators alone are responsible and that women and girls have a constitutional right to be in public spaces, regardless of their clothing or behavior.
