A Discussion Table on the Protection of Survivors and Witnesses in Cases of Sexual Violence

A Discussion Table on the Protection of Victims, Witnesses and Experts in Sexual Violence Cases

Tadwein for Gender Studies, in cooperation with Love Matters Project, held a discussion table, in October, 7 2020 entitled: “Protection of Victims, Witnesses and Experts in Sexual Violence Cases” at Holiday Inn Maadi.

The attendees included Representatives of women’s and human rights organizations and non-governmental organizations, as well as women’s and youth initiatives. Representatives from Parliament, human rights lawyers and the media spokesperson for the Administrative Prosecution also attended. The study dealt with stories of sexual abuse in Egypt, and stressed on the need to work on safe spaces for girls from a legal point of view to testify without fear. The importance of working on a law to protect lawyers and the positive step of changing the witness protection law was also discussed.

The attendees discussed the importance of working on the legislative philosophy of laws, stressing the importance of working on new laws in line with the current era, the importance of working on issues of violence against women without reference to their morals, and the importance of creating a safe shelter for survivors of violence, as well as the importance of training legal authorities on how to deal with cases of gender-based violence.

The main recommendations of the meeting:
• Use the standards used in the training of the United Nations for judges and advisers.
• Working on a societal agenda and mapping allies in power.
• Using media and social media to communicate ideas in new and innovative ways.
• The importance of working with syndicates.
• The importance of introducing awareness of the law in education and the media.