{"id":34,"date":"2013-10-20T15:13:08","date_gmt":"2013-10-20T15:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/?p=34"},"modified":"2014-09-28T17:03:58","modified_gmt":"2014-09-28T17:03:58","slug":"womens-groups-urge-protection-against-sexual-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/womens-groups-urge-protection-against-sexual-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s groups urge protection against sexual violence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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 violence against women in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The gathering, which took place at UNESCO Palace in Verdun, included a number of women\u2019s organizations. Most were made up entirely of females and only a few males.<\/p>\n

The meeting was organized to address the increasing number of cases of sexual harassment of women, believed to be correlated to the deteriorating security situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time to raise our voices before such incidents increase further,\u201d said Caroline Sakr, the program coordinator at the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are addressing today those responsible for the protection of human beings in Lebanon concerning issues that can no longer be postponed and that cannot lag behind, especially since we are giving justifications to those acting violently in the name of tradition and human nature,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

According to Sakr, the number of victims of sexual violence increases every year, even though awareness campaigns to curb them have also been on the rise.<\/p>\n

Domestic rape is a crime in over 104 countries, but has not been acknowledged in Lebanese law, despite Parliament\u2019s joint committees having approved a draft law aimed at protecting women from domestic violence in July.<\/p>\n

Lawyer Marie-Rose Zalzal confirmed that sexual violence has not been acknowledged as a crime in the Lebanese legal system.<\/p>\n

She added that women who have been sexually abused typically do not choose to report their experience to the authorities, and due to the fact that many of the victims are minors it is up to the parents to make the decision.<\/p>\n

Roula al-Masri, the gender equality program coordinator at the non-profit organization Abaad, added that a large number of Syrian refugee girls and women have been subject to sexual violence, some at the hands of their host communities.<\/p>\n

Refugee women, especially widows, have had to turn to \u201csurvival sex\u201d due to their families\u2019 subpar living conditions.<\/p>\n

Early-age marriages are also prominent among the refugee communities, Masri added.<\/p>\n

Sexual harassment in the workplace is also markedly on the rise, especially with more women entering the workforce. Sexual harassment has also been identified as occurring more frequently in schools and in prisons.<\/p>\n

Incest is also particularly dangerous, Sakr said, as victims go through intense loneliness because they have been abused by someone they trust, and they are therefore unable to discuss it with family members.<\/p>\n

A woman at the gathering who chose to remain anonymous recalled being sexually molested as early as the age of 5 by her paternal aunt\u2019s husband, who then raped her when she turned 12. As happens in many cases, he told her he would kill her parents if she revealed anything about the abuse.<\/p>\n

While she did end up telling her mother, the latter said there was nothing that could be done about it. As an adult, she got married and had a daughter. Her husband raped her as well and while in the custody of a guardian, her daughter was also molested when she was 10 years old.<\/p>\n

According to the organization, studies show that women who have been subject to sexual violence suffer from several long-term emotional and psychological issues including depression, guilt, fear of intercourse, isolation, insomnia and alcohol and substance abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call on our right to live in a safe environment free from sexual and emotional abuse,\u201d Sakr said. \u201cWe want more protection from sexual violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u00a0Source: The Daily Star <\/span><\/div>\n
By Rayane Abou Jaoude<\/a><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 violence against women in Lebanon. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35,"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":[33,8,19,27,6],"post_format":[],"flags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/213798_img650x420_img650x420_crop.jpg?fit=650%2C420&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa0Zsl-y","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":164,"url":"https:\/\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/coalition-meeting-to-protect-children-against-early-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":34,"position":0},"title":"Coalition meeting to protect children against early marriage","date":"July 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering- RDFL organized on the 28th of July 2017 a coordination meeting for the national coalition to protect children from early marriage. Representatives of different member organizations discussed the current status of RDFL\u2019s law to protect the children, which was submitted to the parliament on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_5196-1.jpg?fit=800%2C533&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":34,"position":1},"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":160,"url":"https:\/\/www.rdflwomen.org\/eng\/launching-sexual-violence-against-women-in-lebanontestimonies-in-the-dark-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":34,"position":2},"title":"Launching “Sexual Violence Against Women in Lebanon:Testimonies in the Dark” study","date":"May 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering- RDFL in partnership with Diakonia cordially invite you to the launching of a study entitled \"#Sexual #Violence Against #Women in #Lebanon: Testimonies in the Dark\", prepared by Dr. Faysal El Kak and Dr. Caroline Succar Slaiby. 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