What is the source of the 99% sexual harassment statistic for Egyptian women?
Executive summary
The widely cited “99%” figure comes from a 2013 UN Women study — often reported as 99.3% — in which more than 99% of surveyed Egyptian women and girls said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment in their lifetime (UN Women, 2013) [1] [2]. That survey and its headline number have been repeatedly referenced in international and Egyptian media and NGO reporting since 2013 [3] [4] [5].
1. Origin: a 2013 UN Women study explicitly cited in reporting
The statistic originates in a UN Women study published in 2013 and widely summarized by news outlets and NGOs as finding that roughly 99.3% of Egyptian women and girls surveyed reported experiencing sexual harassment at least once in their lives [1] [2]. Major outlets including Smithsonian, PBS and Spiegel cite the UN finding when reporting the “virtually all” or “more than 99%” language [3] [4] [5].
2. How the number has been transmitted into public discourse
From 2013 onward the UN number became a shorthand used by media, advocacy groups and scholars. Websites and local outlets repeatedly quote the 99.3% figure [6] [7], while international pieces use rounded forms — “99 percent” or “more than 99 percent” — which amplified the statistic’s visibility [3] [5]. Secondary sources like Wikipedia and institutional briefs also repeat the 2013 UN figure, further normalizing it in public discussion [8] [9].
3. What the figure describes — scope and wording in sources
Available sources present the finding as lifetime prevalence of “some form of sexual harassment” rather than a single narrowly defined act; reporting notes that the study included a broad range of behaviors from verbal harassment to physical contact [1] [3]. Some summaries add sub-findings — for example, that 91–93% of women said they did not feel safe on the street — underscoring that the figure sits within a wider set of survey responses about safety and harassment [2] [10].
4. Limitations and questions that reporting raises
Reporting reproduces the headline statistic but does not always unpack methodology: sample size, sampling method, question wording, and whether the survey was nationally representative are details not provided in the cited articles and briefs here [3] [1] [2]. Several sources note disagreement about interpretation: Egypt’s National Council for Women at times pushed back on the UN’s implication and later domestic officials gave lower single-year or annual incidence figures, signalling political and methodological contestation around the number [5]. Available sources do not mention the UN report’s full questionnaire or sampling frame in these excerpts, so those methodological specifics are not shown in current reporting [3] [1].
5. Alternative measures and different timeframes cited in coverage
Other surveys cited in the materials produce different prevalence estimates and timeframes: the Arab Barometer’s 2020 wave reported 63% of women experienced harassment in the prior 12 months, rising to nearly 90% among women aged 18–29 — a different metric (annual prevalence vs. lifetime) and a notably lower headline than 99% [11]. Older Egyptian surveys from NGOs produced lower lifetime figures too (for example, an 83% figure from a 2008 Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights study is cited in summaries) [8]. These contrasts show that measurement choices (lifetime vs. 12-month, definitions of harassment, and sample composition) produce different headline rates [11] [8].
6. Why the 99% number stuck — rhetorical power and political utility
The near-universal figure carries strong rhetorical force: “virtually all” frames the problem as pervasive and systemic, useful to international advocates and media drawing attention to the issue [3] [4]. At the same time, some domestic voices and institutions have contested the framing or offered lower figures, which reflects an implicit political agenda: minimizing the scale can be defensive for authorities, while highlighting near-universality increases pressure for reform [5].
7. Practical takeaway for readers and researchers
If you cite the “99%” stat, attribute it to the UN Women 2013 study and be explicit about what it measures — reported lifetime experience of “some form” of harassment — and that other sources using different methods report lower rates for narrower timeframes [1] [11]. For a fuller methodological assessment, consult the original UN Women report (not provided among the current excerpts); available sources here do not include the report’s full methodology text [3] [1].
Sources: UN Women study widely reported as 2013 finding of ~99.3% lifetime harassment [1] [2]; contemporary media summaries and subsequent surveys cited for context and differing timeframes [3] [4] [11] [8] [5].