In its issue of today, Al Akhbar newspaper referred to a study by researcher Mona Khneiser of the Issam Fares Institute, AUB, and which examines the sexual harassment draft laws in Lebanon. According to Al Akhbar, the study found that such laws contribute to adjusting legal provisions that impede the process of addressing various forms of systematic violence against women, and have a significant contribution in breaking societal silence of sexual assaults through giving harassment a serious social dimension that calls for deterrent policies. Yet, Al Akhbar said, the study revealed that the legislations, submitted by MP Ghassan Mkheiber and minister of state for women’s affair, Jean Ogassapian, to criminalize sexual harassment, still fall short of protecting marginalized and vulnerable groups or of presenting a comprehensive overview of sexual harassment as a form of gender-based violence and discrimination. Khneiser concluded her analysis by saying that harassment policies are based on “legalized neutrality” and an “ethical” approach that views sexual harassment as an act that impinges upon or violates “dignity” and “honor”. She mentioned that she did not take into account the unequal power relationships between the victim and the harasser in relation to arbitral procedures. For more on the study, kindly refer to the following link: :https://goo.gl/3kjbBG. (Al Akhbar, March 26, 2018)