Following Criminalization Of Sexual Assault, Egypt Arrests Seven For Tahrir Square Attack

Egyptian police said Monday they had arrested seven people involved in sexually assaulting a 19-year-old girl in Tahrir Square during the inauguration ceremony for President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The girl is reported to have been transported to a Cairo hospital, but no details are available regarding her current condition. The Interior Ministry identified the seven people involved in the assault in a statement and said their ages ranged between 15 and 49. The ministry said the seven were arrested for "harassing several girls" but did not mention the 19-year-old girl specifically.

The Associated Press reported that a YouTube video had been posted of the attack. The video shows men crowding around a woman, who is completely naked, trying to grab her bloodied body as police try and remove her from the scene.

The attack comes just days after outgoing interim President Adly Mansour issued a decree categorizing sexual harassment as a crime punishable by a minimum six-month jail term and a fine worth 3,000 Egyptian pounds. The decree states that employers, for cases in workplaces, and repeat offenders will receive increased penalties.

Egypt has long been recognized in the media for its growing sexual assault epidemic, and Cairo's Tahrir Square is often a hotbed for attacks. According to a U.N. survey released in 2013, 99.3 percent of Egyptian women reported being sexually harassed, with 91 percent saying they feel insecure in the street as a result.