Live testimonials on the impact of displacement on Syrian women

As part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, and in partnership with UNFPA in Lebanon, the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (LWDG) held yesterday a meeting to discuss the impact of displacement on Syrian women refugees and their Lebanese peers. The event comes within the framework of LWDG project entitled: ‘Involvement of Local Communities and Leaders in Preventing Violence Against Women’. During the meeting, LWDG information officer, Hayat Mirshad, maintained that Syrian women have paid the highest price for the war on their land before being confronted with the hardship of displacement. Mirshad added: “The scale of suffering could be summed up in the following facts: rape, sexual harassment, physical and moral violence, psychological trauma, domestic violence, forced and early marriage, resorting to prostitution as a mean of family subsistence, rising crimes of honor against women who were subjected to rape during the war in Syria, lack of the minimum economic and social fundamentals and exposure to abuse and exploitation in return for certain services.” Mirshad went on to say that as the reality of the refugee crisis has given way to all forms of violence against women, local communities, their leaders, civil and international organizations are called on to find useful lines of attack that are supportive of women and that can protect them from violence while easing tension with their Lebanese counterparts. Furthermore, a documentary film entitled, “Them: Live Testimonies for Syrian Women on the Impact of Displacement”, and presenting a number of real life cases, was screened at the end of the meeting. (Al Mustaqbal, December 3, 2015)