LEBANON: Law to Stop Violence Against Women Takes Time

BEIRUT, Jun 16 (IPS) - There was some good news for women’s activists in Lebanon last week.

The government met to discuss a new law criminalising spousal abuse - a giant step forward in a campaign by women’s groups for equal rights.

For the past few weeks, TV channels have been telecasting two powerful public information advertisements on domestic violence. The first shows a man bullying his wife, while the second features a father brutalising his daughter.

The ads are part of a nationwide campaign launched by Kafa - from the Arabic word for ‘enough’ - to stop violence against women.

When it comes to women’s rights, Lebanon has antiquated laws. For example, Lebanese women are not allowed to pass on their nationality to their spouses and children. So-called ‘honour’ crimes still prevail in rural areas, particularly Mount Lebanon and the Bekaa, according to a book by Azza Charara Beydoun, ‘Crimes Against Women in the Lebanese Judiciary’.

"Today, one of the main problems women are confronted with is the nature of the Lebanese legislative system itself," says lawyer Leyla Awada from Kafa. Laws in Lebanon, which are based on an individual’s religious affiliation, are usually less favourable to women.

Abused women can either seek justice from religious courts - these vary from one community to another and depend on the person’s sect - or penal courts.

In case of the latter, a victim can file an official complaint, but this is generally addressed to officers who are not trained for the task or who don’t take spousal abuse claims seriously. In addition, since most women are financially dependent on their husbands, they don’t have the means to pay the legal costs incurred in a civil court.

Kafa has been involved with three kinds of abuse: spousal, pedophilia and trafficking. "Our main concern is to prevent family abuse," explains Awada. There are only a few shelters for victims of abuse in Lebanon. Worse, they do not take in women with children.

Raya, a fashionable, young woman in her twenties who wanted to be identified by only one name, is a company executive. Born in an upper class but conservative family, she has a BA from the American university of Beirut and is fluent in both English and Arabic.

Attractive and well to do, she seems modern and successful like many Lebanese women. But she has been a victim of domestic violence.

"My father was an extremely violent man," Raya recalls. "He had bouts of depression and anxiety, accompanied by violent behaviour, which was directly usually at either my mother or my sisters and me."

She says he once broke a vase on her sister’s head, causing a massive head injury. "He suspected her of having a boyfriend, which was not true," she adds.

To help women in distress, Kafa has established a 24-hour helpline to offer advice and psychological and legal counseling.

"Most women who come to us are usually victims of spousal abuse. This might be attributed to the fact that Lebanese avoid reporting abuse from a father or brother unless rape is involved," says Kafa lawyer Awada.

Kafa took the initiative to set up a committee comprising lawyers, judges and police officers who drafted the new law, and submitted it to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora eight months ago.

Following the legal process, the prime minister sent the bill to the interior and social affairs ministries before it was handed over to the government on Jun. 2.

"We were very surprised to discover in the papers that ministers Mohamad Fneish and Brahim Chamsedine had vetoed the draft law before resubmitting it for further study to a committee of ministers who had already been extensively briefed on the subject," observes Awada.

Chamsedine, who was interviewed over the phone by IPS, said the draft law had to be fine-tuned further before it conforms to Lebanon’s religious framework. Muslims are in the majority in Lebanon. Christians and other minorities constitute about 40 percent of the population.

"I assure you that I am keen on protecting the interests of Lebanese women," the minister added. "This procedure is quite normal and draft laws resubmitted for study require a period of a maximum of six weeks. I would say that since Tuesday (Jun. 9), about 50 percent of the work has been completed and I will be meeting with Kafa this week."

(END/2009)

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