Agencies:

Sexual crimes have become an increasingly controversial topic in recent years in Egypt, where many public opinion cases have reached varying outcomes.

But Radwa (27 years old) faced a different type of crime, as she told Thomson Reuters Foundation that her ex-boyfriend threatened to send naked photos of her to her parents in revenge for their breakup.

The Thomson Foundation says that in socially conservative Egypt, sharing intimate photos can cause severe consequences ranging from the "shame" a girl might bring upon her family to being kicked out of the home.

Radwa said: "I was extremely terrified. I was dying slowly because of this threat."

According to the foundation, cases of "sextortion" involving threats to share private photos have increased worldwide in recent years. Many victims are women and girls, and the perpetrators are current or former partners seeking to humiliate or coerce them.

When Radwa confided in her friends, they advised her to turn to an online platform called "Qawem" launched by activists a year ago to help women fight sextortion.

Radwa said: "I contacted them via Facebook. They provided psychological support, collected all the information, and did not ask for any photos. Only the written threats. Then they dealt firmly with the extortionist." She added, "Their approach to handling the case gave me strength."

Mohamed Al-Yemani (35 years old), a marketing manager and social media activist, established the "Qawem" platform in mid-2020 when he wanted to help women confront perpetrators and ensure the destruction of photos. Such a crime can have tragic consequences.

Last year, a young woman (17 years old) contacted Al-Yemani to report a threat from her ex-boyfriend. Al-Yemani urged her to go to the police, but the photos were sent to the teenager's brother. The next day, she committed suicide.

Al-Yemani said: "It was really hard. I felt very sad. But this encouraged me to launch a platform that can help other women who might face the same situation."

Dozens of Egyptians started sharing stories about sexual assaults on social media last year, but activists say there is still a deeply rooted bias in Egypt to blame women for behavior considered provocative, more than men in sexual crimes.