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Egyptian campaign utilizes children as first defense against abuse

An Egyptian NGO has launched a campaign that helps children recognize abuse and feel comfortable reporting sexual assaults against them.
A boy stands in the Eshash El-Sudan slum in the Dokki neighbourhood of Giza, south of Cairo, Egypt, September 2, 2015. Residents of the slum clashed with police in late August, when about 50 ramshackle huts were destroyed and at least 20 people were injured by teargas, local media reported, as authorities attempt to clear the area and rehouse residents. The slum dwellers, some of whom have called Eshash el-Sudan home for 50 years, say there are not enough apartments built nearby to house them. The residents

At a public primary school in the Cairo district of Dokki, a group of kids and adults are learning a new song. Pointing to their bodies, they sing, “Do not let anybody touch here or hold you this way / Because it is your own body and no one has the right to touch it.”

The song is part of a campaign launched by the nongovernmental organization Hemayya (Protection) to raise awareness among children about sexual abuse and to encourage them to report it when it happens to them. The campaign, named after the organization, engages kids through games, songs, and drawing and other illustrative techniques.

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