BEIRUT: Lebanon’s General Directorate of State Security has called on parents to be more vigilant in protecting their children and adolescents from harassment and abuse.
Schools and universities are also being urged to raise more awareness among children, young women and men on how to take precautions and protect themselves from harassers.
“Rape and sexual harassment crimes have become high in percentage and are occurring in various regions of Lebanon, especially in areas with high population density,” George Harb, media adviser to the director general of State Security, told Arab News.
The warning came as State Security detained a Lebanese citizen in his 60s “after verifying his involvement in molesting children.” He owns a commercial shop in Beirut.
According to State Security, the detainee “lures children to his institution, and sometimes to his home, where he harasses them and offers them material and visual incentives.”
The Division of Service and Information in State Security monitored the suspect, arrested him, and took him to the General Directorate, where he was confronted with the children he had assaulted in the presence of a representative from a child rights institution.
Harb said that “the molester either threatened the children he assaulted that he would kill their fathers if they reported him, so they obeyed him out of fear, and sometimes he would lure children with money.”
Harb told Arab News that the arrest was carried out in coordination with the Lebanese judiciary, which will refer the suspect for further investigations and punishment.
The investigations conducted with the man were recorded, Harb said.
The State Security’s message to parents also asked them to warn their sons and daughters to resist anyone who tried to touch them or invited them to secluded places, and to inform them of any incident.
The message was issued based on strict directives from Director General Brig. Gen. Antoine Saliba.
“The consequences of neglect are very negative on every child or teenager, who may be exposed to psychological harm and bear its consequences and suffering throughout their lives,” the message said.
The General Directorate also warned in a media statement that cases of harassment and rape in Lebanon had been increasing recently.
Harb said that the perpetrators and victims are mostly Lebanese.
He said a 21-year-old offender was arrested recently at a sports club. He allegedly tried to assault a 13-year-old girl who was practicing sports in the club.
The teenager screamed when he tried to trap her to assault her, which foiled his attempt and led to his arrest, Harb said.
Harb expressed his astonishment that “parents could let a minor girl alone go to the sports club.”
He also spoke about “children whom their parents allow to go down to the street without monitoring them.”
Lina Taleb, a victim of sexual assalt, died recently as a result of severe bleeding. Her grandfather — on her mother’s side — was arrested on suspicion of incest, and her mother was arrested for covering up the crime.
In a related development, physical violations against adult women in Lebanon have also been on the rise.
In a recent survey, 61 percent of women expressed concerns abouut “not feeling safe while commuting and fearing harassment, rape and theft.”
Moreover, 63 percent of these women complained about “the high cost of living, which forced 55 percent of them to change their daily activities and habits, such as work, study, visits, sports and others.”
Almost 90 percent of women walk for a duration ranging from 5 to 20 minutes to find public transportation.
The statistics were reported in the study conducted by the Association of Women’s Action (Noqta) in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Lebanon on “Women’s Transportation in Lebanon.”
It highlighted the challenges that women face during their commute on public transport and how it affected their professional and academic lives.
Alia Awada, a feminist activist and executive director of Nqota, said that the study “documents the most significant challenges that hinder women’s freedom of movement in public spaces.”
Awada noted that “21 percent of the women surveyed were subjected to some form of harassment while using public transportation.”
Awada said that the study found that 63 percent of female students were affected by these challenges, either delaying their studies or forcing them to quit altogether.
“Also, a significant number of women have been affected in their work due to transportation issues, which affects women’s economic abilities.”
Awada emphasized the need to provide safe transportation for both male and female passengers.
The economic crisis in Lebanon has made it difficult for young women and employees to buy their own cars for travel, forcing them to rely on public transport for their daily commute.
Nqota is a feminist lab run by a group of women working in media and creative production. They seek to achieve behavioral change and impact social norms for the benefit of women, girls and marginalized groups.
