Egypt

Law No. 10/1961 on Combating Prostitution remains the controlling statute and has never been amended. Article 9(c) — the "habitual practice of debauchery or prostitution" provision — is the most commonly applied (3 months to 3 years). The Penal Code's "morality" provisions complement this: Article 269 criminalises soliciting/incitement in public, Article 269 bis prohibits incitement to indecency, and Article 178 punishes distribution of materials offending public morals. Cybercrime Law 175/2018, Article 25 — content "violating family principles and values" — has, since January 2024 rulings by the Alexandria Economic Court, been interpreted to explicitly criminalise homosexuality (a shift from de facto to de jure). A new draft bill before Parliament's Legislative and Constitutional Committee would replace Law 10/1961 and raise penalties to 7 years for online "invitations" to debauchery or prostitution.

Enforcement is concentrated in Cairo, Alexandria, Giza, Ismailia, South Sinai and Damietta, with the Cairo Vice Squad and the Public Prosecutor's Communication, Guidance and Social Media Department (CGSMD, established 2019) running active monitoring of the "cyber border." EIPR's "The Trap" report documents three core morality-police tactics: dating-app entrapment (especially of trans women and gay men), deportation of foreign nationals perceived as LGBT, and high-publicity "sex scandal" sweeps. Arrests of gay and trans people quadrupled under Sisi versus pre-2013 levels (232 men arrested 2013–2017 vs. 185 over the prior decade). The 2017 Mashrou' Leila rainbow-flag concert sweep produced at least 57 arrests in one operation. Forced anal examinations by the Department of Forensic Medicine remain routine despite the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights ruling them torture in a decision made public in November 2025.

Cybercrime Law 175/2018 Article 2 mandates 180-day telecom data retention, and Article 25 has been used to convert dating-app activity into a "family values" offence carrying minimum 6 months prison plus EGP 50,000–100,000 fines. Grindr issued an unprecedented mass-warning to all Egyptian users in March 2023 confirming police were running fake accounts; the practice continues into 2026 across Grindr, Hornet, Tinder, Bumble, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. Harvard researcher Afsaneh Rigot's study found 29 of 40 documented MENA dating-app persecutions occurred in Egypt. Assume any phone search at customs is hostile evidence-gathering.

Egypt is among the most dangerous countries in the world for LGBT+ sex workers or LGBT+ travellers generally, and conditions have worsened — not improved — since 2013. Do not install Grindr, Hornet, Scruff, or any LGBT-coded app on a device you bring into Egypt; do not reinstall on local networks; assume any "match" arranging to meet is a police entrapment. Foreign nationals face the same debauchery charges as citizens plus deportation. For cis female sex workers, advertising openly, working from hotels, or any visible street presence carries near-certain arrest risk.

None operate legally or safely. International platforms do not list Egypt-based providers in any meaningful capacity. Any local "escort" listing site is presumed to be either a scam or police-monitored.

• EIPR — Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights ("Personal Freedoms" programme)
• Cairo 52 Legal Research Institute — tracks LGBT court rulings + cybercrime jurisprudence
• ILGA World — "Identities Under Arrest" enforcement database