Summary:
Modern Egyptian laws include many articles that penalize voluntary sex work, facilitating it, or helping those who work in it. It should be highlighted that entirely voluntary sex work (and not compulsory as in human trafficking) is a form of freedom of choice, as in freedom to choose one’s work and freedom of personal life, which is preserved and guaranteed by international law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Egyptian Constitution. We at Cairo 52 Institute believe in the equality of all people before the law, the sovereignty of social justice, freedom, and human rights as a whole, including the right to work in accordance with Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which falls under economic and social rights. Consequently, believing in citizens’ right to choose the work they deem appropriate, and thus believe in the right of sex workers to freely exercise their work as any other work exercised for a financial return, without security restrictions or societal harassment. And to continue a series of reports of the same name, starting with the previous report of the Media Observatory of Arrests Based on Sex Work from January 2021 to December 2022, which is based on analyzing, archiving, and monitoring media news on arrests of sex workers, covering 2019 and 2020. The objective of this report is to shed light on the situation of sex workers and their conditions. It also aims to close the knowledge gap and bring some kind of transparency to the issues of sex work and workers.
