Taharrush Djama'i

Taharrush dschama'i (in some texts Taharrush dschamai ), incorrectly also Taharrush gamea ( Arabic تحرش جماعي Taharrush dschamā'ī , DMG Taḥarruš ǧamāʿī 'community harassment', English transcription taḥarrush jamāʿī ) is a compound of the Arabic words for harassment and community. According to the former Cairo correspondent Julia Gerlach, the term denotes, at least in Egypt, certain forms of sexual attacks on women by groups of men.

Use of the term in Europe

The term was first mentioned in German (in the wrong transcription taharrush gamea ) in a statement by the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) after the sexual assault on New Year's Eve 2015/16 in Cologne . On January 10, 2016 Die Welt reported on the BKA's statement. Focus Online took up the report on the same day.

According to a report by the North Rhine-Westphalian interior ministry to the interior committee of the state parliament , the BKA saw the jointly committed sexual harassment of women in public as a phenomenon that occurred in several Arab countries.

Christoph Ehrhardt, the FAZ correspondent in Beirut , cited statements from Egyptian feminists who wondered about the “career” of the term, which was “ nothing more than a word”. Erhardt also referred to the genesis of the corresponding article (still under the title Taharrush gamea ) in the German-language Wikipedia .

Other authors criticized that the Arab term was propagated primarily for xenophobic motives, including by right-wing politicians and groups. Using the Arabic term instead of a translation makes the phenomenon more frightening and exotic.

Web links

Thorsten Gerald Schneiders : Sexual group violence against women. From Tahrir Square to Cologne Central Station. In: The News. 15th January 2016.

Individual evidence

↑ Hans Wehr: Arabic dictionary for the written language of the present. Harrassowitz, Leipzig 1952, pp. 134 and 168.
↑ Julia Gerlach, Nana Brink: Frustration of young men discharges into sexual violence. In: Deutschlandradio Kultur . January 13, 2016, accessed on March 12, 2017 : “But there is another phenomenon that is also referred to as“ taharrush gamea ”in Egypt. These are attacks on women on public holidays, i.e. rather outside of a political context, just in a celebratory mood, and where there are also frequent attacks on women. ... And precisely this holiday phenomenon, where women go for a walk, for example - these are groups of girls and they are attacked by groups of boys ... "
↑ ^a ^b ^c Alex Shams: Neither Taharrush Gamea Nor Sexism Are Arab 'Cultural Practices'. In: Huffington Post . January 21, 2016, accessed on February 27, 2017 (English): "In recent days, a new term has suddenly appeared in the media to describe a supposedly Arab cultural practice:" taharrush gamea. " The term, which is misspelled (the second word should read gama'ei), just means “group harassment” in Arabic, but right-wing commentators are trying their hardest to convince you that it actually means “sexual assault by a bunch of Arab men ”or“ gang-rape game ”and that it's a normal thing in the Arab World. They're wrong, of course, on all fronts. But the invention of the term and the sudden currency it has gained in the mainstream Western media tells a darker tale of how xenophobic right-wing groups in Europe have cynically used reports of sexual violence against women to further a deeply racist, anti-refugee agenda . "
↑ Martin Lutz: The phenomenon “taharrush gamea” has arrived in Germany . In: Welt Online . January 10, 2016 ( online [accessed January 13, 2016]).
↑ FOCUS Online: After Cologne sex attacks: BKA wants to fight the phenomenon "taharrush gamea". Retrieved February 10, 2019 .
^ Ministry of the Interior and Local Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia : Report of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Local Affairs on the attacks on Cologne Central Station on New Year's Eve. (PDF) January 10, 2016, retrieved on December 5, 2018 (German): “The form of sexualised violent crimes by groups in connection with property / robbery offenses has not yet occurred in the form of violent crimes in Cologne in Germany. These violent crimes are to be clearly distinguished from the so-called “ antecedial crimes ” that have been prosecuted for a long time . […] Against this background, the AG Kripo already dealt with this on January 8, 2016 on behalf of the federal and state internal departments and decided to have this phenomenon analyzed immediately and to include findings from abroad. The Federal Criminal Police Office, for example, has knowledge that a modus operandi is known in Arab countries , which is known as "taharrush gamea" (common sexual harassment in crowds). It was z. B. reported on the occasion of the Egyptian revolution by the media. For this purpose, a federal-state working group will deal in-depth with the phenomenon and develop specific control concepts. "
↑ Christoph Ehrhardt: Violence against women in Egypt: Where sexual harassment is everyday life . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . January 15, 2016, ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed February 15, 2017]).
↑ Christoph Ehrhardt: New Year's Eve in Cologne: Did the deeds have a system? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . January 17, 2016, ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed February 15, 2017]).
↑ Abdelmonem et al .: The 'Taharrush' Connection: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Sexual Violence in Germany and Beyond. Retrieved February 27, 2017 .
↑ Abdelmonem, Angie, Bavelaar, Rahma Esther, Wynne-Hughes, Elisa and Galán, Susana: The 'Taharrush' connection: xenophobia, Islamophobia, and sexual violence in Germany and beyond. (PDF) In: Jadaliyya. Arab Studies Institute, March 1, 2016, accessed on February 27, 2017 (English): “The term“ taharrush ”has been widely used by Western media and German authorities to portray collective sexual violence as a practice that originates from the Middle East and North Africa and is thus foreign to German and European culture. By connecting Cologne with Egypt in a highly misrepresented way, the media has been able to justify a racist platform against the continued acceptance of migrants and refugees coming to Europe. [...] Not surprisingly, far-right leaders have welcomed the connection between sexual violence and refugee / migrant populations across Europe. [...] By co-opting feminist demands for women's emancipation and their right to self-defense, these conservative forces instrumentalize the Cologne sexual assaults for their xenophobic ends. "

[1] Hans Wehr: Arabic dictionary for the written language of the present. Harrassowitz, Leipzig 1952, pp. 134 and 168.

[2] Julia Gerlach, Nana Brink: Frustration of young men discharges into sexual violence. In: Deutschlandradio Kultur . January 13, 2016, accessed on March 12, 2017 : “But there is another phenomenon that is also referred to as“ taharrush gamea ”in Egypt. These are attacks on women on public holidays, i.e. rather outside of a political context, just in a celebratory mood, and where there are also frequent attacks on women. ... And precisely this holiday phenomenon, where women go for a walk, for example - these are groups of girls and they are attacked by groups of boys ... "

[huffingtonpost-3] Alex Shams: Neither Taharrush Gamea Nor Sexism Are Arab 'Cultural Practices'. In: Huffington Post . January 21, 2016, accessed on February 27, 2017 (English): "In recent days, a new term has suddenly appeared in the media to describe a supposedly Arab cultural practice:" taharrush gamea. " The term, which is misspelled (the second word should read gama'ei), just means “group harassment” in Arabic, but right-wing commentators are trying their hardest to convince you that it actually means “sexual assault by a bunch of Arab men ”or“ gang-rape game ”and that it's a normal thing in the Arab World. They're wrong, of course, on all fronts. But the invention of the term and the sudden currency it has gained in the mainstream Western media tells a darker tale of how xenophobic right-wing groups in Europe have cynically used reports of sexual violence against women to further a deeply racist, anti-refugee agenda . "

[welt-4] Martin Lutz: The phenomenon “taharrush gamea” has arrived in Germany . In: Welt Online . January 10, 2016 ( online [accessed January 13, 2016]).

[focus-5] FOCUS Online: After Cologne sex attacks: BKA wants to fight the phenomenon "taharrush gamea". Retrieved February 10, 2019 .

[6] Ministry of the Interior and Local Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia : Report of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Local Affairs on the attacks on Cologne Central Station on New Year's Eve. (PDF) January 10, 2016, retrieved on December 5, 2018 (German): “The form of sexualised violent crimes by groups in connection with property / robbery offenses has not yet occurred in the form of violent crimes in Cologne in Germany. These violent crimes are to be clearly distinguished from the so-called “ antecedial crimes ” that have been prosecuted for a long time . […] Against this background, the AG Kripo already dealt with this on January 8, 2016 on behalf of the federal and state internal departments and decided to have this phenomenon analyzed immediately and to include findings from abroad. The Federal Criminal Police Office, for example, has knowledge that a modus operandi is known in Arab countries , which is known as "taharrush gamea" (common sexual harassment in crowds). It was z. B. reported on the occasion of the Egyptian revolution by the media. For this purpose, a federal-state working group will deal in-depth with the phenomenon and develop specific control concepts. "

[7] Christoph Ehrhardt: Violence against women in Egypt: Where sexual harassment is everyday life . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . January 15, 2016, ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed February 15, 2017]).

[8] Christoph Ehrhardt: New Year's Eve in Cologne: Did the deeds have a system? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . January 17, 2016, ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed February 15, 2017]).

[9] Abdelmonem et al .: The 'Taharrush' Connection: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Sexual Violence in Germany and Beyond. Retrieved February 27, 2017 .

[10] Abdelmonem, Angie, Bavelaar, Rahma Esther, Wynne-Hughes, Elisa and Galán, Susana: The 'Taharrush' connection: xenophobia, Islamophobia, and sexual violence in Germany and beyond. (PDF) In: Jadaliyya. Arab Studies Institute, March 1, 2016, accessed on February 27, 2017 (English): “The term“ taharrush ”has been widely used by Western media and German authorities to portray collective sexual violence as a practice that originates from the Middle East and North Africa and is thus foreign to German and European culture. By connecting Cologne with Egypt in a highly misrepresented way, the media has been able to justify a racist platform against the continued acceptance of migrants and refugees coming to Europe. [...] Not surprisingly, far-right leaders have welcomed the connection between sexual violence and refugee / migrant populations across Europe. [...] By co-opting feminist demands for women's emancipation and their right to self-defense, these conservative forces instrumentalize the Cologne sexual assaults for their xenophobic ends. "