Egypt is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Egyptian children, including those among the estimated 200,000 to one million street children, are vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labor in domestic service, begging, and agricultural work. Individuals from the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, purchase Egyptian women and girls for “temporary” or “summer” marriages for the purpose of prostitution or forced labor; these arrangements are often facilitated by the victims’ parents and marriage brokers, who profit from the transaction. Child sex tourism occurs primarily in Cairo, Alexandria, and Luxor. In 2011, the government’s National Center for Social and Criminological Research found 40 percent of women in jail charged with crimes of prostitution had been forced or coerced into prostitution. An international organization reported in 2013 some Egyptian women were subjected to sex trafficking in Sri Lanka. Egyptian men are subjected to forced labor in construction, agriculture, and low-paying service jobs in neighboring countries. Syrian refugees who have settled in Egypt are increasingly vulnerable to trafficking.
Comments