The National Council for Women announced on Wednesday that an operation room will be available to receive sexual harassment complaints from women and girls during the Muslim Eid Al-Fitr holiday starting Thursday.

The operation room will receive complaints via the hotline 15115, said Amal Abdel-Moneim, director of the NCW’s complaints office.

The operation room will also provide social and legal support for women who wish to file harassment-related lawsuits, Abdel-Moneim said.

She also stressed that the NCW’s continuous cooperation with the Ministry of Interior’s violence against women unit is part of the NCW’s endeavour to stand by sexual harassment victims and protect women against all forms of violence.

Millions of Egyptian women fall victim to sexual harassment on a daily basis, and the phenomenon usually increases when Egyptians take to streets and parks to celebrate during public holidays.

In recent years, the interior ministry has deployed female police officers in crowded streets to combat sexual harassment during the Eid holiday.

Egypt criminalised sexual harassment in 2014 with jail terms for offenders from six months up to three years, and/or hefty fines.

Last year, parliament passed a law to keep the identity of victims of sexual assault and harassment confidential to protect their reputation and encourage them to file police reports.