Our crisis and how it affected the woman

     The country’s crises are many. But our protection can’t be postponed any longer! one out of two women in Lebanon considers that women’s protection should be a priority during the ongoing crisis that the country is witnessing, whereas 96% of young girls and women residing in Lebanon who have experienced domestic violence in 2021 stated that they had never reported it.

     Violence against women is a human rights violation that takes place every single day around the world. Globally, one in three women experiences physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner. While domestic violence and abuse are sometimes hidden, if we know the signs of an abusive relationship, we may be able to recognize it better and seek or offer help.

      Lebanon has not taken any steps to issue an optional civil code or to reform its 15 religion-based personal status laws and the religious courts that apply them. These courts discriminate against women across the religious spectrum and do not guarantee their basic rights, especially in matters such as divorce, property rights, and responsibility for children after divorce.

       Lebanon’s economic crisis, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and the port explosion in Beirut on August 4, 2020, has made life worse for marginalized populations, not least for migrant domestic workers, the majority of them women from African and Asian countries. Many have reported increased incidents of abuse by their employers during the lockdown, and at least seven have taken their own lives since March. Migrant domestic workers remain excluded from Lebanon’s labor law protections provided to other workers, and their legal status remains tied to their employer under the kafala (visa sponsorship) system.

     Violence against women exists in all countries and in all societies. It happens in public and private places, and in physical as well as virtual online spaces. Violence is often driven by a deep-seated belief that devalues women and that assumes that a woman is not equal to a man. Be you, be what you want. If you walk behind the orders and standards of society, they will plot against you, and if you rebel against them, they will fear and respect you.