[1][2][4] While some attacks appear to be spontaneous and stem from mob mentality, OpAntiSH activists believe that at least some of the sexual assaults are planned and carried out by organized gangs, to keep women from participating in the revolution's protests in Tahrir square.
In a culture that blames the victim, women start to believe that they shouldn’t go to the square.”[3] OpAntiSH was established in November 2012 by volunteers, including those affiliated with Mosireen, an Egyptian revolutionary media group.
[2][5] OpAntiSH first appeared in Tahrir Square on 30 November 2012, during protests against President Mohamed Morsi's constitutional declaration, alongside groups like Banat Misr Khatt Ahmar (Egypt's Girls Are a Red Line), which was founded earlier in 2012.
[6] OpAntiSH uses a variety of methods to combat sexual harassment, in attempts to remove barriers to women's participation in street protests by keeping them physically and emotionally safe.
[3] Volunteers in the group conduct outreach and publicity to raise awareness of sexual harassment, and provide legal, medical, and psychological support as well as safe houses that can be used for recovery by women who have been assaulted.