Mass sexual assault in Egypt

Mass sexual assault is a widespread issue in Egypt and has been the subject of significant international attention since 2005, when Egyptian security forces and their agents were accused of using it as a weapon against female protesters during a political demonstration at Tahrir Square in Cairo on 25 May of that year. It has since become increasingly prevalent, and by 2012, it had become commonplace for crowds of young men to sexually assault or rape women during festivals and political protests throughout the country. As such, it remains one of the most pressing issues for women in the Arab world.

Testimonies on these mass sexual assaults revealed a general pattern in how they are conducted: a smaller group of men would encircle a woman, while a larger group of men would form an outer ring to physically deter anyone who attempted to intervene; the isolated woman would then be abused and groped while being stripped of her clothes and vaginally or anally penetrated with fingers or handheld objects.^: 38–41 The attacks, which have been described as the "circle of hell" by activists, have been extensively documented by Egyptian women's rights organizations, Amnesty International, and the United Nations.

Commentators say the attacks reflect a misogynistic attitude among Egyptian society that penalizes women for leaving the house, seeks to terrorize them out of public life, and views sexual violence as a source of shame for the victim, not the attacker. Sexual assault has been used as a weapon against female protesters in 2005 and since July 2012, although the perpetrators are not exclusively politically motivated.^: 4–8