The US’ State Department’s annual report on human trafficking has ranked Egypt as among the worst in regards to the incidence of human trafficking. This year’s report saw Egypt drop to the ‘Watch List’ of countries, but avoided being listed with countries that are ‘blacklisted’ due to their failure to combat human trafficking. Belarus, Belize, Burundi, Comoros, Marshall Islands and South Sudan were all downgraded to the ‘blacklist’, while Iran, Russia, Eritrea and Algeria have been on the list for many years. According to the 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report, “Egypt is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.” The report added that individuals from the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, “purchase Egyptian women and girls for ‘temporary’ or ‘summer’ marriages for the purpose of prostitution or forced labor; these arrangements are often facilitated by the victims’ parents and marriage brokers, who profit from the transaction.” The majority of such ‘child sex tourism’ primarily occurs in Cairo, Alexandria and Luxor. In particular, the Egyptian government has failed to address human trafficking, and primarily sex…
