Amnesty International: Syrian women refugees in Lebanon subject to exploitation and sexual harassment

Amnesty International (AI) published on Tuesday a new report that sheds light on various forms of exploitation, particularly sexual harassment, suffered by Syrian women refugees as a result of plummeting aid from international donors, coupled with the tightened restrictions imposed by the Lebanese authorities. Entitled, ‘I need a safe place: Syrian women refugees uprooted and unprotected in Lebanon’, the report was released two days ahead of the key donor conference for Syria which will be held in London to urge greater financial assistance from the international community. The AI report quoted Syrian women who said that they were taken advantage of by people in positions of power, including real estate owners and employers, and even from police officers.” A great number of those refugees said they struggle to meet the high cost of living in Lebanon and to afford food or rent which puts them at a greater risk of exploitation. Whereas, the strict measures adopted by the Lebanese government have left many of them unable to renew their residency permits, thus living illegally in the country and therefore reluctant to report abuses.

In conclusion, Amnesty International made three key recommendations that will presumably immediately improve the lives of many women refugees. Firstly, it urged the Lebanese government to facilitate the renewal of residency papers for those women; secondly, it appealed to the world’s wealthiest states to meet their commitments by instantly increasing the financial allocations in support of refugee host countries in the region, including Lebanon; finally, the organization urged countries of the world to share greater responsibility in resettling more refuges.

(For full report: https://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/i_want_a_safe_place_lebanon_report.pdf) .(Daily Star, L’Orient Le Jour, February 2, 2016)