Characteristics and current efforts to reduce violence against women in Egypt: Results of the Egypt Violence Against Women Study

The Egyptian National Council for Women and USAID/Egypt recently completed on a major, multi-author study of violence against women. This paper covers the major findings of the survey, which includes (but is not limited to) a survey of the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of 4,408 married men, married women, and unmarried male and female youths; secondary analysis of data from the violence against women module of the Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS 1995 and 2005); and analysis and recommendations related to the legal structure (prosecution and protection), media attitudes and practices, and services for survivors of domestic and community violence. Conducted within a human rights framework, the study increases our understanding of violence against women in Egypt, including the relationship between violence and key demographic factors, such as age of first marriage, educational attainment, and income level. The study also increases our understanding of the attitudes and practices of married men, unmarried men, and unmarried women, groups not included in the Demographic and Health Survey, and provides original research on experiences, attitudes, and knowledge related to sexual harassment and assault outside of the home, one of the first times these areas have been addressed using systematic survey research techniques in Egypt. The paper concludes by discussing some of the political and social challenges to reducing violence against women in Egypt, including current work with a broad range of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to develop a national strategy to reduce violence against women and strengthen services for survivors.