Women sexual harassment: Growing complaints in the absence of deterring legislation

Al Akhbar wrote today about sexual harassment, pointing to around 143 sexual harassment complaints reported to the ISF Public Relations Department during July and August, with a 104% increase compared to the same period of last years. Noting, that according to the ISF Directorate, the rate of female victims stood between 60% and 80%, and the grievances posted on social media were particularly about sexual extortion. The newspaper attributed the rise in the number of complaints to the coronavirus enforced lockdown which openly attracted a greater number of social media users. It went on to say, that despite the upsurge in the harassment cases, women victims hesitate about resorting to law. Furthermore, the detained suspects since the beginning of this year barely reached 133, and are often released on bail along with a signed pledge to not repeat their act! On the subject, “Harass Tracker” co-founder, Nai Raai, explained to Al Akhbar that the victims of sexual extortion are by far greater than the documented figures, citing WHO figures that indicate that 1 in 3 women have been harassed during their lifetime. Kafa lawyer, Leila Awada, also agreed with this, lamenting that the victim generally objects by speaking up only, but hesitates or shies away from taking her harasser to court or pressing charges against him. Awada clarified that there is no specific legal definition for sexual harassment in Lebanon, adding that, though harassment is dubbed by international agreements as a plain crime, the Lebanese laws don’t view it as such. The harasser continues to get away with just a bail. And when someone is charged with this felony, it routinely falls under the group of extortion, threat, humiliation and insult, but never as sexual harassment which is not observed by the local laws. It is worth mentioning, that the draft bill on criminalizing sexual harassment is still lying in the drawers of the parliamentary committees. The draft, to recall, is a sum up of several proposals submitted by former minister of women’s affairs, Jean Ogassapian, former MP Ghassan Mkhaiber, Madaniya association and the head of the Mother and Child Parliamentary Committee, Inaya Izzedine. (Al Akhbar, September 30, 2020)