In Egypt, two sets of laws relate to domestic violence: ratified international agreements and domestic laws.

Ratified international agreements

From an international law standpoint, Egypt has ratified the following conventions:

United Nations

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women^[1]

Signed: 16 July1980

Ratified: 18 September 1981

Reservations made upon signature and confirmed upon ratification:

• Article 2 (policy measures), subject to the general reservation that Egypt is willing to comply with this article provided that such compliance does not run counter to Islamic Sharia law
• Article 16 (equality in marriage and family life)
• Article 29(2) (administration of the convention and arbitration of disputes)

Egypt withdrew its reservation to Article 9(2) in 2004 after amending Nationality Law No. 26 of 1975, amended by Law No. 154 of 2004 to remove discrimination against women in passing nationality to their children.

United Nations

The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Ratified: 1986

African Union

African Charter on Human and People's Rights^[2]

Signed: November 1981

Ratified: March 1984

Egypt has not signed the protocol to the charter relating to the rights of women (Maputo Protocol).^[3]

From a local standpoint, the main domestic legislation that governs gender equality and protection against gender-based violence can be classified as follows:

1. Domestic laws

1. Penal Code No. 58 of 1937 and its amendments, most recently amended by Law No. 5 of 2018 ("Penal Code")
2. Law on Criminal Procedures No. 150 of 1950 with amendments ("Criminal Procedures Law")
3. Law on Combating Prostitution No. 10 of 1961
4. Personal Status Code of 1985 and Law No. 1 of 2000 on Litigation in Matters of Personal Status ("Personal Status Law")
5. Egyptian Child Law No. 12 of 1996 and its amendments, most recently amended by Law No. 126 of 2008 ("Child Law")
6. Law No. 154 of 2004 amending the Nationality Law No. 26 of 1975
7. Law No. 10 of 2004 on the Establishment of Family Courts
8. Law No. 11 of 2004 on Family Insurance Fund
9. Anti-trafficking Law No. 64 of 2010
10. Law No. 45 of 2014 on the Promulgation of the Law on Political Participation
11. Civil Services Law No. 81 of 2016
12. Law No. 82 of 2016 on Combating Illegal Migration and Smuggling of Migrants
13. Law No. 30 of 2018 on Regulating the National Council for Women
14. Law No. 25 of 1966 on Martial Courts

2. Egypt's Constitution of 2014

The Constitution of Egypt 2014 ("Constitution") addresses women's issues in a more comprehensive way than it had previously. The preamble states that the Constitution ensures equality in rights and duties with no discrimination. The Constitution includes more than 20 articles that address women directly, including ensuring equal opportunities for women, the prevention of discrimination against them, protection against all forms of violence, and ensuring women's empowerment and care for women and girls at various stages of their lives.

Egypt is a civil law country and it does not have a system of precedents as in other countries. The most persuasive and authoritative are the decisions of the Court of Cassation. The Court of Cassation's decisions consistently confirm that any harm sustained by a wife would be punishable under the law. See the following Court of Cassation decision numbers: 18555 of Judicial Year 73; 6848 of Judicial Year 63; 520 of Judicial Year 51 where the court has repeatedly stated that any physical harm sustained by a wife would be punishable under the law.

Generally, Egypt adopts "specialized courts" to address disputes involving a specific area of law. For instance, family courts were established as a specialized court by Law No. 10 of 2004, where such courts handle issues pertaining to personal status and adjudicate all family disputes; whereas child courts were established as autonomous courts with specialized jurisdiction. Each governorate has a child court.

Considering the sensitivity and complexity in dealing with juvenile delinquency, the Child Law created a specialized prosecution department to handle these matters if a child has allegedly committed any crime. Further, there are several support offices for women in courts of first instance as the Ministry of Justice declared that the empowerment of women is its top priority. Initiatives have been taken to fight violence against women by facilitating women's access to the justice system and providing them with free legal assistance and legal representation.

However, for cases involving domestic violence (physical violence), the judges presiding over courts in certain districts have issued decisions to establish specialized courts for domestic violence against women. Therefore, these courts are the competent courts to review those cases. 

Causes of action include physical injury or threat thereof of the wife or the children and others, as stated in the below response under Section 5.5.

The following are the means by which a claim may be brought:

1. The victim can file a claim before the competent court.
2.  The victim ("woman") can file a complaint before the Women's Complaints Office that is part of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. The office receives complaints from women who are subjected to persecution or violence, and it seeks to resolve them and it works to support women to protect their rights according to the law and the Constitution. This office is entirely responsible for filing a claim before the competent court, hiring a volunteer lawyer for the woman and providing all legal aid and advice. All such services are provided to women for free.
3. Further, the National Council for Women (NCW) has updated its strategy, along with the Public Prosecution Office, as it is responsible for Penal Code suits and protection. A collective unit is being established to combat violence against women, which will include all the concerned bodies relevant to the draft law on violence against women that the NCW is developing.

The strategy has four themes:

1. Prevention deals with education, raising awareness and a review of laws.
2. Protection concerns raising awareness of the law, updating legislation and encouraging women to report violations.
3. Interventions relate to psychological services, health services and the provision of a women's shelter.
4. Prosecution and litigation include developing a preventive measures mechanism to protect women victims of violence, as well as developing a referral system.