[PDF] (Translated from Arabic) Ministry of Social Affairs Department - ohchr

5492_4Lebanon.pdf (Translated from Arabic)

Ministry of Social Affairs

Department of Family Affairs

Women's Affairs Section

Subject: Request for information on the subject of the elimination of violence against women

Beirut, 19 September 2005

With reference to the above-mentioned subject and further to letter No. 50214 (89-9) dated 16 August 2005 from the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, we submit herewith a report on the procedures and policies adopted by the

Ministry of Social Affairs with a view to elimin

ating violence against women. This report is in response to the questions set out in the Special Rapporteur's letter. With regard to the reply to the final question, this is not a matter that falls within the

Ministry's competence.

(Signed): Abir Abd al-Samad

Chief of the Women's Affairs Section

CHR/NONE/2005/282

GE.05-16229 (E) 180106

- 2 -

Introduction

Women in Lebanon encounter many problems th at make their lives difficult and impede their participation in the development process. One of the biggest problems that they face is the problem of violence against women in all its forms, including physical, psychological, economic and legal violence. There is no doubt that Lebanon's laws and customs help to increase the frequency and severity of this problem; women are reluctant to admit that they are being

subjected to violence, it is still not done to talk about such matters, and this type of violence is

still considered a private family matter, in which no interference is allowed. In accordance with the foregoing, we may infer that both the formal and informal sectors have to focus on two main areas of action: firstly, breaking down the wall of silence surrounding violence against women by drawing attention to all the forms that this kind of violence takes, and

helping victims to talk about their situation in order to resolve this problem; secondly, addressing

and reducing the severity of the problem with a view to its elimination, particularly as violence against women violates women's rights and fundamental freedoms in general, denies women the enjoyment of their rights and freedoms, and renders such rights and freedoms null and void. Lebanon has signed most of the international treaties which call for the elimination of violence, including, in particular, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women. However, it has made some reservations to these treaties regarding the issues of nationality and personal status.

Q1. Governmental progr

ammes and activities All forms of violence against women in Lebanon have an adverse and destructive impact not only on women but also on their families and communities. Although Lebanon has no statistical information on the adverse impacts and exorbitant costs of violence against women, it must be recognized that this kind of violence adversely affects women's physical and mental health; women tend to conceal violence and to keep it a secret, because they fear that, if the community knew about it, their predicament would only be worse. This increases the adverse effects and the costs of this type of violence. - 3 - In addition, children and communities can also be adversely affected; communities incur material and other costs, especially in the soci al sector (formal and informal) and the health,

judicial and security sectors (the Ministry of Social Affairs has no reliable official statistics or

figures on this phenomenon). It follows that the phenomenon of violence against women must be addressed. In this regard, the Ministry of Social Affairs has resolved to combat domestic violence in general and violence against women in particular and has therefore designed programmes and projects to combat violence against women, which are described hereunder. Government programmes: Ministry of Social Affairs (awareness campaigns) Capacity-building project for social workers on preventing domestic violence In view of the need to break down the wall of silence surrounding domestic violence and to encourage discussion and a deeper understanding of the constituent elements of the phenomenon, using dialogue and joint efforts at all levels to find agreed and appropriate solutions for individuals and communities on a case-by-case basis, depending on the circumstances, traditions and perceptions of the individuals concerned, the Ministry of Social Affairs is working with the Lebanese Society for the Elimination of Violence against Women

(a civic association) to implement a project to train, and strengthen the role of, a group of social

workers in organizing awareness-raising sessions on domestic violence in general and violence against women and children in particular. The project encourages the trainees to sensitize local communities to this issue, focusing on abuse of children, older persons, and partners in general, particularly female partners, and on changing the behaviour of family members so that disagreements can be resolved through constructive dialogue. The project was also designed to give social workers the tools they need to monitor violence and to intervene in cases of spousal violence. A large part of the project has been completed and the remainder is being implemented by a group of social workers at development services centres run by the Ministry of Social Affairs throughout Lebanon, and by members of civic associations which operate in the domain of violence prevention (45 social workers from 41 development services centres in different parts of Lebanon; 11 social workers from 11 civic associations active in the field of preventing - 4 - violence; and 2 social workers from the Syrian Arab Republic, 1 from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour and the other from the University of Damascus). These persons attended training courses on running awareness sessions on combating domestic violence in general and violence against women in particular. The project working group then began monitoring awareness-raising sessions run by trainees throughout Lebanon, conducting joint evaluations with them and their superiors. A total of 70 awareness-raising sessions were held in different parts of Lebanon in 2004 with as many as 1,042 persons (840 women and 202 men) taking part. Specialized training on intervening in cases of spousal violence has been provided to a total of 27 social workers (21 social workers from the development services centres of the Ministry of Social Affairs, 4 from the Ministry of Social Affairs itself, and 2 from the Lebanese Society for the Elimination of Violence against Wo men). This training was offered as part of a course being run in cooperation with a private Lebanese university (the Jesuit University) to provide it with specialized, academic input. The following training and informational support materials were produced for the project: A training manual for awareness-raising sessions; An information booklet; An informational poster. Work is continuing on the production of a video for the project, and preparations are still being made for a project publicity campaign. Capacity-building project for social workers on preventing domestic violence (violence against women) This project was carried out in cooperation with a civic association known as the Lebanese Women's Democratic Gathering. Its aims were: to develop the capacities of social workers in development services centres and Women's Democratic Gathering centres to - 5 - prevent domestic violence; to provide these persons with the skills to monitor and intervene in cases of violence against women and girls; to teach the skills of organizing and managing awareness-raising sessions and listening sessions for victims of abuse and of networking and coordinating with civic associa tions and all governmental bodies devoted to combating domestic violence; to teach trainees how to disseminate a culture of non-violence among families and communities and to monitor and document cases of violence against women. A training course was run for 27 participants (3 social workers from development services centres of the Ministry of Social Affairs, 23 social workers from the Lebanese Women's Democratic Gathering, and 1 social worker from the Martha and Mary Association). A number of very important themes were presented during the course, focusing on the following: women's rights and violence against women - an historical overview; the Criminal Code; an overview of personal status law; international conventions on women's human rights; the concept of violence against women and its social and cultural origins; the impact of violence against women; communications skills and how to organize an awareness-raising session; the role of the forensic doctor; the role of the internal security forces; addressing violence; and awareness-raising. The project working group carried out field visits to follow up on the awareness-raising sessions which had been run in different parts of Lebanon and the ground was laid for the gathering of statistical information on violence against women and the documenting of cases for inclusion in a special booklet that will be distributed to the Lebanese public.

Project on women's legal empowerment

The Ministry of Social Affairs has launched a project on women's legal empowerment designed to: Offer free legal advice to women at the development services centres involved in the above-mentioned project; Broaden women's knowledge of the current state of Lebanese law; - 6 - Give women the self-confidence to demand their legal rights without fear or trepidation, since women are usually ignorant of their rights; Provide women with the addresses of organizations which can help them with legal issues; Acquaint women with the articles of Lebanese law that are prejudicial to them; Create a legal database (laws, decrees, decisions, etc.) at development services centres involved in the project. The project on women's legal empowerment is implemented by: Running awareness-raising sessions about issues of importance to women, particularly access to employment and the Criminal Code: crimes relating to marriage (marital rape), rape, abduction, incitement to depravity, honour crimes, personal status laws, etc.; Running awareness-raising and training sessions for the staff of development services centres of the Ministry of Social Affairs and members of certain civic associations which are close to the centres and are actively involved in women's affairs throughout Lebanon; Providing free legal advice to every woman who goes to a development services centre asking for legal assistance.

Thus, we can conclude that:

(a) The awareness campaigns run by the governmental and civic centres on violence against women play an important role. The Ministry of Social Affairs organizes many awareness events throughout the country as part of its prevention policy. These events are run separately or in conjunction with civic associations and deal with subjects such as reproductive health, domestic violence, violence against women, women's rights, etc. - 7 - The above-mentioned awareness sessions (run as part of the three projects mentioned above) play an important part in combating violence against women, insofar as they target various groups, especially young persons, women, j uveniles at risk of delinquency, primary and secondary school teachers, mothers, fathers, adolescents (particularly in camps and clubs), and care workers in hospitals and health institutions. However, the most important target groups are persons who attend prayers in Lebanese mosques and prospective marriage partners, upon whom awareness sessions about violence against women have the greatest impact. (b) With regard to education of boys and girls, there is no doubt that efforts to combat violence against women, if not to eliminate this phenomenon, are a step in the direction of eliminating all forms of discrimination against women, empowering women, and achieving full gender equality. Education can help women to achieve self-realization, to find employment and thus to become economically independent. This can play an important role in combating the violence to which they may be subjected. Education in Lebanon is one of the main areas in which conspicuous successes have been scored. Education of girls became an acquired right with the birth of the Lebanese Constitution, and Lebanese laws on instruction and education do not discriminate between males and females at any stage of primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, university, or vocational education. The laws furthermore guarantee that both sexes follow the same curricula and are free to choose their area of specialization. It is worth noting that the gender gap has na rrowed at all levels of education and that some slight discrepancies in favour of girls now exist at certain stages of education. Girls pursue their studies up to the intermediate and secondary stages, while there are fewer boys at these two stages. Even if we comp are provinces, the differences are negligible in terms of sectors and stages. However, there is still the problem of guaranteeing free and - 8 - compulsory education, even though the Compulsory Education Act was passed by the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies in 1998. There is still a gap between compulsory and free education, even though free education is an effective guarantee for all groups in society that suffer from poverty, particularly females. There has been a marked decline in the illiteracy rate, although it is still twice as high among women as compared with men. 1 The illiteracy rate for females is high at 17.4 per cent (as compared with 9.2 per cent for males). According to 1997 statistics, the breakdown of this rate by sex and age group is as follows: 2

Table 1

Breakdown of the illiteracy rate by sex and age group

Age group Females (%) Males (%)

15-19 2.3 2.4

20-24 3.9 2.7

50-59 36.4 12.2

Source: The Education for All Plan. Figures taken from a 1997 study of household living conditions. One can conclude, therefore, that illiteracy is concentrated among persons in the older age groups. Attention must be drawn to the important role played by the National Committee for the

Eradication of Illiteracy; the

figures for the period 1997-2002 show that the total number of participants in literacy courses amounted to 11,639, i.e. an average of around 2,000 persons per year. Lebanon contributed to and adopted all the recommendations emanating from the international conferences held in Jomtien and Thailand in 1990 and 2000 on the subject of eliminating the gender gap in education and creating educational curricula and programmes that cater for basic needs up to 2010. - 9 - (c) With regard to women's employment, any study on women's work and participation in economic activity must go be yond examining the labour market, because an important part of the contribution that women make lies outside the scope of the market. If the available statistics have yet to take sufficient account of these aspects, making it difficult to come up with data for a quantitative study on the contribution made by women, field studies do show up this gap and attempt to address it. There has been a marked improvement in women's participation in economic sectors and institutions. The number of women in employment is estimated at 21 per cent of the total workforce, while the female employment rate has risen to 25 per cent of all women of working age and to 36 per cent of women in the 18-35 age group. This is evidence of steady growth in employment among young women. Table 2 below looks at the concentration of women's employment in the services sector. The public administration sector employs 9.4 per cent of men and 3.5 per cent of women, while the education sector employs 27.8 per cent of women and

4.2 per cent of working men.

3 [Text missing] As for the incidence of chronic illness, this stands at 8.8 per cent among the resident population. Studies show that the rate of chronic illness increases with age, regardless of place of residence (countrysi de or town) or sex. As for reproductive health, there has been steady improvement in recent decades in Lebanon as a result of the joint contributions made by the civic and governmental sectors. In 2000, the maternal mortality rate stood at 104 per 1,000 live births. The Government
announced a policy of reducing that figure to 64 by 2005, but surveys have yet to be completed and are expected to be ready by the end of 2005. 4 At that point, it will be possible to compare the results and figures. The most recent study (1999-2000) shows that 94.9 per cent of pregnant women went for medical consultations and that the average number of consultations was 6.7 per woman. Some

92.5 per cent of deliveries were performed in hospitals and private and governmental maternity

homes. 5 - 10 - With regard to AIDS, the number of male sufferers is still far higher than the number of female sufferers. Studies show that sexual relations are still responsible for the transmission of the disease and that travel remains the main source of the disease. (e) With regard to political rights, Lebanese women took part in the executive authority for the first time in 2004 when the Government appointed two women ministers. Although these achievements are less than what might be hoped for, the fact that the Government has women members is an important and significant step (Lebanese women were granted the right to political participation at an early stage, i.e. in 1953). There has been some improvement, albeit slight, in women's participation in the legislature. The number of women deputies, out of a total of 128 members of parliament, rose from 3 to 6 after the 2005 elections. A wome n's committee was established by the Chamber of Deputies and does a great deal to promote women's participation in political life. Another significant event occurred in 2004 when a woman called Nailah Mu`awwad was nominated for the presidency of the Republic. The judiciary has also seen some significant developments when compared to other sectors in terms of the rate and level of women's participation. For example, 5 of the 37 judges serving at the Court of Cassation are women and the number of women serving as apprentice judges in administrative courts and other courts of justice now outstrips the number of men. On 11 November 2004, for the first time ever in Lebanon, a female judge was appointed as a public prosecutor to the Court of Cassation, making her the first woman to be a member of the supreme judicial council. Lebanese women also participate actively in Lebanese national and municipal election campaigns, in protest policies, and in pressure groups. It is worth highlighting some of the achievements that have been scor ed in the past five years: There has been a marked improvement and an increase in the number of women working in senior positions in the public sector and the judiciary; Significant progress has been made in the development of databases containing indicators which are broken down according to sex. - 11 - Finally, it must be said that efforts to encourage women's participation in politics and decision-making run into numerous obstacles: poverty; the absence of national political parties which have influence in different areas; the fact that nominations are made on the basis of denominational quotas; and, most importantly, the fact that the electoral law and the articles on the legal status of women formally oblige women to register in their husband's electoral district, forcing them to give up their way of life and lose contact with their roots, because of the way that the local authorities view the nature of a person's ties to place. (f) With regard to laws, Lebanon has done a great deal in the legislative domain, although the biggest shortcomings that we have yet to address in terms of amending laws, especially those which deny women their rights and play a role in violence against women, are as follows:

Personal status affairs

This is one of the most delicate issues and encounters the greatest difficulties for at least two reasons:

Reason 1:

The reservation which Lebanon made when it acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women with regard to the subjects of nationality and personal status as they relate to gender equality in the family;

Reason 2:

This is a fundamental issue that has to do with the way in which the system of confessionalism is built into Lebanon's legal and legislative apparatus, precluding the adoption of civil legislation in this area. With regard to the maintenance of Lebanon's reservation to article 16, paragraph 1, of the Convention, the idea of adopting a civil personal status law (albeit an optional one) remains a dead letter. The draft law which the Government (by a majority, but not a unanimous, vote) adopted and transmitted to the Chamber of

Deputies in the 1990s was not tabled for

parliamentary discussion. - 12 - Some religious denominations, such as the Orthodox community, have made some amendments to their laws, and Catholic communities are now considering modifying their system of guardianship. For all denominations, the father is the statutory guardian of children and he alone can authorize them to travel, to open bank accounts, etc. With regard to the issue of nationality, it is noteworthy that on the specific issue of nationality, more than one Arab country has softened its position and adopted legislation abolishing the general prohibition on Arab women transmitting their nationality to their children, albeit gradually (Egypt, Jordan, Morocco). 6 With regard to the maintenance of the reservation to article 9, paragraph 2, of the Convention, to date there have been no new developments on this issue in terms of our domestic legislation. However, the Public Directorate of Public Security did introduce an administrative procedure in 2003 offering permanent or long-term courtesy residence cards to: Arab nationals and foreigners with Lebanese mothers; The wives of Lebanese nationals, regardless of their nationality, provided that they do not undertake any employment. The public security note which entered into effect as of 1 July 2003 emphasized the continuing applicability of the laws relating to Palestinian refugees. It also established a mechanism to address the injustice suffered by children of a Lebanese woman who are born and live in Lebanon but do not enjoy the rights associated with nationality. Although this administrative measure is constructive and practical, it does not dispense with the need to amend the law, given the implications for issues such as inheritance, ownership of real property, etc. With regard to labour and social insurance laws, Lebanese legislation recognizes, in general, equality between men and women in employment. Numerous amendments have been made to the Lebanese Labour Code of 1946 in order to promote gender equality. The most recent and significant amendments made to Act No. 207 of 26 May 2000 explicitly prohibit - 13 - employers from discriminating between male and female workers with respect to the type of work, rate of pay, employment, promotion, seniority, vocational training, and dress (new art. 26). The duration of maternity leave has been changed, rising from 40 days to 7 weeks (art. 28), and it is forbidden to give a pregnant woman notice at any time during her pregnancy (art. 52); this used to be possible before the fifth month of pregnancy. With regard to social insurance, article 14 of the Social Insurance Act has been amended

to read as follows: "The term 'insured' in this article refers equally to insured males and females

without any discrimination." The new Act also abrogates paragraph (f) of article 14 to read as follows: "The child benefits to which the insured person is entitled in accordance with the interpretation given by the National Social Insurance Fund of paragraph (f) above, are an acquired right for her and her children and cannot be revoked." In the public sector, Act No. 344 of 21 April 2001 establishes equality between male and female civil servants with respect to benefits for State employees. [Text missing.] The most important part of the media sector's work is the coverage given by the Lebanese audio-visual sector to incidents of violence, particularly those in which women are the victims of violence. Ultimately, we must commend the role played by the religious leaders of the different Lebanese denominations who have responded to the appeals of civil society to combat violence against women by making efforts, during their sermons, to draw attention to the evils of violence against women and its destructive effects on Lebanese families. Everything that we have mentioned thus far has done much to raise the awareness of many citizens about the importance of women's role in society and of their economic and political participation, helping to change attitudes towards women in general and towards violence against women in particular. - 14 - Fundamental challenges in combating violence against women in Lebanon Lebanon has gone a long way in terms of implementing international resolutions that call for efforts in the governmental and civic spheres, to combat violence against women. It continues to take action to eliminate all existing forms of discrimination against women. In spite of its efforts to combat violence against women, there are still some challenges which impede the realization of this goal and efforts are being made in all spheres to address them. The remaining challenges are difficult to overcome, especially as they have to do with religion, customs and traditions. The most significant of these challenges are described hereunder.

Amendments to laws

Since violence is not viewed as a public problem but an entirely private matter and since there are 17 personal status codes in force in Lebanon, in our view, there are many Lebanese laws that continue to deny women their rights. In spite of the many achievements scored, leading to the amendment of many legal articles with a view to granting women their rights and equality with men, there are still many challenges to be overcome, particularly with regard to the Criminal Code and personal status laws. However, Lebanon and all strata of Lebanese society are endeavouring to amend all legal articles that discriminate against women. The most obvious challenges in this domain are the following: The difficulty of establishing a civil personal status law, especially as Lebanon made a reservation on this subject when it acceded to the main international conventions on the elimination of violence against women; The fact that the law does not prescribe heavy or significant penalties for husbands who assault their wives and, most importantly, that there are no legal provisions on marital rape; The fact that it is difficult for battered women to obtain free legal aid; The fact that it is difficult to amend the provisions of Lebanese laws that deny women their rights, particularly personal status laws, since this would require support and pressure from all sectors of society in ge neral and from the religious establishment in particular. - 15 -

Research

The absence of research on this topic; The lack of official statistics on cases of violence in Lebanese society which could be used in the preparation of official reports and design of national programmes; The lack of a comprehensive survey of all groups in Lebanese society and of a database on this issue.

Awareness-raising

Although the governmental and civic sectors have done good work by organizing meetings, activities and sessions to raise awareness about violence against women, and although the media try to draw attention to this phenomenon and its dangers, through awareness-raising programmes (meetings, series, etc.), there is still a long way to go to raise awareness among battered women and even those who are at risk of violence. In addition, there is a need for awareness campaigns for professionals who work with battered women, such as law-makers, social workers, the police, doctors, clerics, media professionals, etc.

Specialized institutions

There are few institutions which specialize in receiving, assisting and supporting battered women; There are few refuges for battered women; The fact that resources are not provided to train a large number of social workers in combating violence against women means that these persons do not acquire the knowledge or skills to be able to intervene in cases of violence against women; There are few initiatives aimed at combating violence against women because of the lack of funding for the implementation of projects, studies, or comprehensive national programmes. - 16 -

Q2. Protection and services for battered women

Role of the internal security forces in receiving battered women, procedures followed and operational mechanisms 7 The procedures and operational mechanisms used in cases of violence against women are those applied by the internal security forces when carrying out police work. In accordance with the social role played by the security forces when dealing directly with citizens' issues and problems, the enfo rcement of the law in such cases takes on a humanitarian dimension and has a positive aim, namely, that of achieving reconciliation and agreement between the perpetrator, if the husband, and the victim, if the wife. In any event, the investigation will proceed in accordance with the due process of law and under the supervision and direction of the public prosecutor, who will pursue all legal avenues to uncover the facts of the case. Where the perpetrator is arrested as the result of an investigation, the violent incident will become more complicated and the situation in the family may deteriorate to such a point that no reconciliation or agreement can be achieved between the husband and the wife; this can lead to divorce and the breakdown of the family. In such situations, the security officer conducting the investigation may, upon consultation with the Department of Public Prosecutions, take steps to involve the family and mediators in finding a constructive solution to the dispute between the two parties. In some cases of mediation of this kind, the wife may withdraw her complaint against the husband in exchange for a pledge, which is written into the investigation report, that he will not assault her

again in the future. This kind of reconciliation is carried out in the presence of the investigator

and under his personal supervision and the investigation report must record the fact that the two parties have reached agreement and have had their demands met without any pressure or coercion. This is an important procedure, since it ensures the cohesion of the family and provides a legal deterrent against the recurrence of such violence. It also protects the wife, who retains the right to file a complaint against the husband should he break his pledge. - 17 - The matter is referred back to the public prosecutor, who verifies the investigation procedures. In such cases, he indicates that the perpetrator can be let go, upon presentation of proof of residence, and the investigation is closed and put on file. If the perpetrator breaches the undertaking which he signed not to assault his wife again, he will be arrested by the internal security forces and appropriate action will be taken against him. The internal security forces have investigated numerous cases, including, by way of example: A case in which a mother put her two daughters under psychological and physical pressure in preparation for forcing them both into prostitution on the pretext that she could not support them. The matter was investigated in the presence of a juvenile counsel and the two girls were sent, at their request, and with the approval of the Department of Public Prosecutions, to a social institution for young persons; Cases of abduction and rape; Cases of incest between ascendants and legitimate offspring. The cases were investigated and the perpetrators were arrested (the reasons related to alcohol- and drug-dependency on the part of some family members). In doing their work, the security forces encounter many obstacles, however, in particular: The fact that the internal security forces have no special bureau which deals with domestic violence, especially violence against women; The fact that there is no administrative department similar to the Department of Juvenile Protection at the Ministry of Justice, which specializes in this type of violence and has responsibility for ensuring reconciliation and protection, once an investigation has been completed; The fact that there is no law on domestic violence and violence against women to regulate operational mechanisms and exceptional measures taken in such cases. - 18 -

Services provided to victims of violence

The Ministry of Social Affairs offers a number of services to women, including battered women. In addition to the projects and programmes which it runs on preventing domestic violence in general and violence against women in particular, as mentioned above, it made progress this year by providing training on intervening in cases of spousal violence to 21 social workers at its development services centres, including 4 social workers from the Ministry of Social Affairs and 2 from the Lebanese Society for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Some 21 Ministry centres cover a large number of Lebanese regions and receive battered women, provide them with listening services an d advice, and intervene on their behalf. The Lebanese Society for the Elimination of Violence against Women also provides these services (listening, advice, intervention and a secure telephone line). The role of the Ministry of Social Affairs does not end with providing services to battered women, but also extends to offering them and other women free primary health care, even if the Ministry of Social Affairs does not have a scheme which exempts this specific group of women from paying for hospital treatment, forensic doctors' fees, etc. Nevertheless, the Ministry's centres are developing local networks of forensic doctors and psychologists to deliver treatment at nominal prices. The centres also network with specialized civic associations which provide battered women with free medical care and psychological and legal counselling. They have specialized staff, including social workers who provide listening and counselling services to battered women. The role of the Ministry of Social Affairs does not end here either; the Ministry has concluded joint contracts with relevant, specialized civic associations, including, inter alia, the Good Shepherd Association, the Martha and Mary Association, and the Young Women's

Christian Association. It supports

these associations by providing them with material assistance to carry out awareness-raising, training, rehabilitation and counselling activities and to take in battered women. The Ministry also contributes through what is known as specialized welfare, providing the necessary funding to a number of civic organizations which specialize in combating prostitution and violence and which cater for women and girls in difficult social circumstances, as well as homeless girls, etc. It supplies them with the necessary funding to offer a temporary refuge to the aforementioned groups, especially women who decide to - 19 - abandon prostitution for good and wish to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. It should be noted, in this context, that the Ministry helps five civic organizations to provide special welfare and accommodation for between 25 and 50 girls or women each, at the Ministry's expense. It also supports eight civic organizations which work with juveniles (girls and boys), protecting them from deviancy, and caring for them at open centres, for example, each of which can take in between 25 and 50 boys or girls at the Ministry's expense. Beyond the work done by the Ministry of Social Affairs, battered women and other persons living in difficult circumstances can seek legal assistance to bring legal proceedings and can engage the services of voluntary lawyers to follow their cases. Measures taken to protect the victims during criminal process We can confirm that if a minor below 18 years of age is sexually abused, the vice squad of the internal security forces will interview the victim in a specially-equipped listening room set up at the court house with a social worker from the Child Protection Bureau in attendance. The Juvenile Protection Act provides protection for child victims of crime. Appropriate measures are taken on the basis of the reports by the social worker appointed by the court to follow the case. Before any decision is taken, the juvenile court judge will listen to the child victim, the family and all other interested parties. The judge may excuse the child from appearing before him, if he decides that the child is too young or that it is not in the child's interests to do so. On the other hand, we should point out that there are many factors which prevent victims from filing complaints against a spouse or family member. These factors can be summed up as follows: The difficulty of admitting the general problems of violence and violence against women, particularly in a culture dominated by male values where women have a lower social status and are economically dependent on men; - 20 - Discrimination between men and women in all spheres, particularly with regard to child-rearing; Battered women's fear of admitting that violence is a problem in the family and the worry that such an admission would create a scandal in their local community; The idea that violence against women is a private matter in which no interference is permissible; The lack of adequate awareness about violence against women and about the evils and impact of violence on women themselves and on their families and communities; Lack of awareness on the part of women about all forms of violence (verbal abuse, economic or sexual violence, etc.) and the idea that men have a "legitimate right" to use violence against women or that the woman has done something to deserve it; Lack of awareness among battered women about the laws which recognize their rights, about the action that they can take with respect to any form of violence inflicted on them, and about the services available to them; Lack of awareness among social groups that have close contact with battered women, such as clerics, policemen, doctors, journalists, etc; The fact that the Criminal Code contains no provisions that refer to, or condemn, marital rape; The existence of customs and traditions which entrench the inferior position of women; The lengthiness and high cost of legal proceedings; The fear of losing guardianship of children; The fear of losing child maintenance payments; - 21 - Family pressure; The mother's fear of scandal and her desire to protect her reputation and the reputation of her children. Multisectoral approach to combating violence against women A multisectoral approach to dealing with complaints from women victims of violence is the best solution to protecting such women and putting a stop to, or indeed eliminating, this phenomenon. However, in order to achieve this, many challenges and obstacles must first be overcome before this approach can be adopted. The difficulties can be summed up as follows: The Government has no practical strategy for eliminating violence against women; There are no governmental institutional mechanisms which deal with the issue of violence against women. Efforts are confined to piecemeal programmes and activities that are not comprehensive and are carried out by several ministries, notably the Ministry of Social Affairs, or by civil society organizations; There is little coordination between the government agencies concerned with combating violence against women (the Ministry of Social Affairs, the internal security forces, etc.); There is no specialized governmental institution (comprehensive services centre) to provide health, psychological and legal services and to listen to, advise and intervene on behalf of women. Although the Ministry of Social Affairs does have development services centres throughout Lebanon, the services which these centres provide still need to be improved and supported, particularly when it comes to receiving, assisting and supporting women; There are no shelters for battered women which are run directly by the Lebanese State. However, the Ministry of Social Affairs does play an important role in supporting a number of refuges run by civic associations, as noted in this report; - 22 - There is little funding to provide social workers with specialized training in combating violence against women, especially in the techniques required to intervene in cases of violence against women; There are few official, national initiatives on combating violence against women, owing to a lack of financial support for the implementation of special national studies and programmes; Most decision-makers are men (in politics and law-making). In addition, there are a series of other factors, to which reference was made above, which impede the creation or adoption of a multisectoral approach and which have to do with the victims themselves. Q3. Prosecution and punishment of victims of violence against women This question does not fall within the remit of the Women's Affairs Section and the

Section has no information on this topic.

Conclusion

We may conclude by saying that the biggest barriers to the protection of women are the fact that battered women are afraid to admit that violence is a problem in the family; the idea that such an admission would cause a scandal in their community; and the lack of awareness about violence against women and the evils and adverse effects of such violence on women themselves, on their health and families, and, consequently, on their communities. In addition, there is the problem of personal status laws, which was described above. It follows that there is a pressing need to harmonize the work done by the governmental and civil sectors in combating violence against women with a view, ultimately, to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women. (Signed): Abir Abd al-Samad Chief of the Women's Affairs Section Beirut, 19 September 2005 - 23 -

Notes

1 Ministry of Social Affairs, "The socio-economic situation in Lebanon: current situation and future outlook", 2004. 2 Second periodic report submitted under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 2005, p. 57 [English text]. 3 Op cit., p. 64. 4 Ministry of Social Affairs, "The socio-economic situation in Lebanon: current situation and future outlook", p. 228. 5 National post-natal study, 1999-2000, with UNICEF. 6 This is due to the fact that the Lebanese State fears that Palestinian refugees may become settled de facto in Lebanon. 7 Talk by Captain George Saraya given as part of a training course organized by the Ministry of Social Affairs in cooperation with the Democratic Women's Gathering to train social workers how to organize awareness sessions on combating violence against women. -----