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Homophobia and Transphobia is not a new phenomenon in Egypt, LGBTIQ+ people face stigma, harassment, and violence in their everyday life, the suffering of survivals cannot be underestimated and as a result, the majority of LGBTIQ+ kept a low profile and concealed their sexual orientation.
Comprehensive data about violence against LGBTIQ+ individuals are unavailable. Egyptian authorities do not collect data on the number of incidents of homophobic or transphobic violence committed against LGBTIQ+ people in the country. Whereas, some unofficial data paint a partial picture of the scope of homophobic and transphobic violence and its dynamic over the past years. This absence of accurate data makes it very dfficult to understand the changing dynamics and the spread of anti LGBTIQ+ violence.
In response to the previous report produced by Bedayaa organization for LGBTIQ in the Nile Valley Area “Egypt and Sudan”1 earlier this year, with regards to violence against LGBTQ+ individuals in Egypt targeting the period of 2012 till 2014, and following up on the scale of those going unreported, this report is based on eld research conducted by Bedayaa organization between the periods of December 15th 2016 to March 15th 2017.
The findings, released by the earlier report stated that the most common perception of hate violence is that it happens randomly and is perpetrated by strangers in public spaces, but that’s not the full story. Hate violence for LGBTIQ+ people is a day-to-day reality, perpetrated by people we know, and in places where we spend most of our time. Statistics from the earlier report demonstrate that anti LGBTIQ+ violence comes in varied forms, including verbal harassment, physical assault, and sexual violence; and affects individuals differently based on identity and background. Certain groups were more likely to experience certain kinds of violence.
This report examines the nature of violence faced by LGBTIQ+ community members in Egyptian society. An intersectional framework approach used to examine how LGBTIQ+ people evaluate the severity of their violent experiences. This report also exposes the questionnaire results and its interpretation with its analysis building on the results of the earlier report.