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.
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.
“The 75-minute entertainment program that we offer to children seeks to teach them about the boundaries of their bodies, where no one should touch them, and also about how they should react if they are subjected to any form of assault,” Eman Ezzat, Hemayya's founder, told Al-Monitor.
Ezzat said that her campaign, aimed at boys and girls ages 4 to 13, addresses sexual abuse in a language that children can understand. “We want to explain to children in simple terms how to protect their bodies and how to differentiate between benign and malign touching,” she explained.
