CAIRO — Egypt’s new president ordered a crackdown on sexual harassment Tuesday after a string of assaults against women celebrating his inauguration cast a glaring spotlight on one of the nation’s most troubling social ills.

Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also called for the decisive implementation of a new law that makes sexual harassment punishable by up to five years in prison, a presidential spokesman said. Several women were assaulted during Sunday’s inaugural festivities – including a mass attack on a 19-year-old student and her mother in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Video emerged that purportedly showed the teenager, bloodied and naked, surrounded by dozens of men.

The president instructed Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who is in charge of police, to do whatever it takes to bring the situation under control, and to honor a policeman who came to the teenager’s rescue.