The National Committee<\/a> for the Follow-up of Women\u2019s Issues.<\/p>\nThe police lack the know-how to help and treat the women that resort to them for protection, according to Shehadeh. \u201cMost often they turn them back; they don\u2019t take them seriously. The police are very bad in these cases, they would laugh at her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although afraid to go to the police, victims must sometimes go to hospital for treatment due to the severity of the abuse. Shehadeh said that in such cases, doctors in emergency rooms should be legally required to report cases of suspected abuse to the authorities.<\/p>\n
She said that usually physicians are able to identify what has caused the injuries, even when victims refuse to say what happened or offer an alternate explanation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce there\u2019s such a law, and doctors start reporting these abuses, things will become much better,\u201d Shehadeh said, adding that doctors who treat abused women should not wait for a law to come into effect to begin their reporting. \u201cThere\u2019s no law that says doctors shouldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to these factors, experts say the law itself suffers from a number of shortcomings.<\/p>\n
Brigitte Chelebian, lawyer and president of Justice Without Frontiers, explained that gaps in the law that prevent it from attaining its stated goals.<\/p>\n
Although it is considered to be a good start, Chelebian explained that the law doesn\u2019t stipulate the necessary mechanisms to protect women before and after a protection order is given.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn order to [properly implement] this law, work must be done to amend it,\u201d she said. \u201cThere should be a role for the Lebanese government; protecting women doesn\u2019t happen just by issuing a protection order.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chelebian also said that trials in domestic violence cases must be dealt with quickly, and abusers must not be able to shield themselves from prosecution by claiming mental illness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey see women as objects they own that they can do whatever they want with; this is how they were raised and this is how they will continue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why the judiciary must decide quickly in these cases, must not be lenient, [and must not allow] excuses and reasons to decrease the punishment … when these verdicts start to be issued without excuses, people will start to see deterrence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chelebian explained that there must also be more awareness among the judges themselves on how to deal with cases of domestic violence and that they must educate themselves on the issue and its implications.<\/p>\n
Despite the myriad problems that affect the protection of women, activists and experts try to remain positive.<\/p>\n
They say the media exposure and the reaction by the public in these cases keeps them optimistic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis never happened before,\u201d Shehadeh said. \u201cI feel I am quite satisfied, there\u2019s now admission that there are such cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.dailystar.com.lb\/News\/Lebanon-News\/2015\/May-28\/299504-activists-see-little-progress-on-domestic-violence.ashx<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIRUT: As activists held yet another rally calling for greater protections for victims of domestic violence Wednesday, both activists and analysts say that deficiencies in the system are stifling progress on the issue, with tragic results for those affected. Last year, Law No. 293, known as the bill for the Protection of Women and Family …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[8,19,11,6],"post_format":[],"flags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/1886010.jpg?fit=1200%2C953&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa0Zsl-1O","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":115,"url":"https:\/\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/report-rdfl-rally-in-solidarity-with-lebanese-women-against-domestic-violence\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":0},"title":"REPORT: RDFL rally in solidarity with Lebanese women against domestic violence","date":"May 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering rallied Wednesday outside the Palace of Justice in Beirut, to express solidarity with the women of Lebanon against domestic violence. The rally aimed at calling for justice in the cases of women who were subject to domestic violence by their husbands or relatives. Families of women\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/1886008.jpg?fit=1200%2C702&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":109,"url":"https:\/\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/lebanese-women-democratic-gathering-demonstrate-in-front-of-justice-palace-to-deplore-violence-against-women\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":1},"title":"Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering demonstrate in front of Justice palace to deplore violence against women","date":"May 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"NNA - Activists of the civil society, the \"Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering\" and human rights organizations staged on Wednesday a sit in in front of the Justice palace, to protest violence against women and the failure of officials at all levels to ensure women protection. Demonstrators hoisted banners deploring violence\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/1886008.jpg?fit=1200%2C702&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":34,"url":"https:\/\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/womens-groups-urge-protection-against-sexual-violence\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":2},"title":"Women\u2019s groups urge protection against sexual violence","date":"October 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Women\u2019s organizations urged Lebanese leaders Tuesday to recognize the rising number of sexual harassment incidents, vowing to keep up the fight against domestic violence. The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering chaired a meeting in cooperation with the Open Society Foundations aimed at identifying and raising awareness over issues relating to sexual\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/213798_img650x420_img650x420_crop.jpg?fit=650%2C420&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":853,"url":"https:\/\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/launching-of-the-media-campaign-on-zero-tolerance-for-violence-against-women-and-girls\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":3},"title":"Launching of the Media Campaign on Zero Tolerance for Violence Against Women and Girls","date":"September 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Within the framework of the Regional Campaign on Combating Violence Against Women and Girls in the Southern Mediterranean Region funded by the European Union and organized by EuroMed Feminist Initiative in consortium with 9\u00a0women\u2019s rights organizations in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco, the Lebanese Democratic Women\u2019s Gathering\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2019-09-23-at-5.54.24-AM-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":609,"url":"https:\/\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/trainings-and-events-july-december-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":4},"title":"Trainings and Events (July \u2013 December 2018)","date":"January 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering \u2013 RDFL, Bekaa Branch, organized several training workshops for partner organizations on strategic planning of associations, human resource development, budgeting, advocacy, and media. 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