This Twitter Account Is Exposing Harassers In Lebanon
In Lebanon, harassment is an issue that has plagued our societies since the dawn of time. Much like other countries in the area, harassment is not only an issue in and of itself, but it’s also dismissed by our culture at large, our institutions, and our families.
Harassment is almost always blamed on the victim, and even when it escalates to rape, the victim is somehow still at blame. Honour killings are ever present in our communities, though it is hidden under the guise of mental illness or fits of uncontrollable anger.
The truth is quite the opposite, though, as harassment is due to patriarchal ideas of public space and masculinity, ones that lead a person to assert their power and challenge the presence of others in the spaces they deem only appropriate for themselves.
In this atmosphere, some people have taken it upon themselves to call out harassers and publicly shame them, in the hope that it will both warn people about these persons, and show the repercussions of harassment on harassers. In a country where your reputation is almost more important than your morals and actions, this seems to be a great effort to begin to address these harassers in a language that they would understand.
This twitter account called Harassment Exposer LB, regards itself as, “an account for exposing harassers and warning others.” They have posted about two harassers thus far, and will post about harassers from reports received by other victims.
Their content has received a lot of positive feedback, especially from women who have seen these harassers or been harassed by them, and more stories about harassment are coming to light. The cultural shame surrounding these stories is melting away in the face of truth and the justice that this account seeks to achieve.
However, as usual, some people have come to the defense of the harassers, asking for proof of their actions or private measures to be taken rather than public shaming of the person. In reply, the account managers have reassured those concerned that those posts come either from firsthand experience or multiple reports, as proven through the stories shared in the replies to the account’s posts.
we’re not out here trying to ruin reputations for no reason (not that any man’s reputation was actually affected by harassment cuz ppl usually come to his defense and no action is taken)… we’re legit trying to warn others.
— HarassmentExposerLB (@HarassExposerLB) June 22, 2018
This account comes is born out of an atmosphere that is more and more open to calling out harassment and accepting that victims are just that, rather than instigators of their own assault.
On Twitter and Facebook, two hashtags also went viral concerning the same subject; “#هل_هو_متحرش” (#Is_He_A_Harasser) and “هيي_مش_لوحدا#” (#She_Is_Not_Alone), in retort to people who were trying to challenge victims on what qualifies as harassment and what doesn’t.
Fe-Male stands in solidarity wiz victims of harassment&abuse.We condemn acts of violence against women within a patriarchal structure that doesn’t allow women 2 report&hold harassers accountable.Exposing harassers is NOT A CRIME.SILENCING WOMEN IS!#هل_هو_متحرش#هيي_مش_لوحدا
“Today, like everyday, as I was walking down the street a man catcalled me, and since my heart is full from things I’ve been reading since yesterday, theories about harassment and feminism, I decided today that I wasn’t going to let it slide.
I came up to him and I asked, “what did you say?” He got nervous and told me to go on my way. I then asked him to repeat what he said again, and he told me to be on my way again. I asked him if he was embarrassed to repeat what he had said. When he knew that no matter what I wasn’t going to leave him alone, he repeated what he said. I then told him, “when a woman is walking down the street, you eat shit and you don’t catcall her”, so he started shouting, told me to put myself in a dish, and that I was impolite.
How could I tell him to eat shit? If I’m a well raised woman I wouldn’t have said something like that. Of course, since he didn’t apologize and since I wasn’t raised well, I decided to kick him and I felt much better for a few hours after.
I don’t know if this classifies as harassment, can the good men please give me their opinion? #Is_He_A_Harasser?
Please, women, and especially feminists, don’t give your opinion, because what do you know of harassment?”
– Nidal Randa Ayoub, 20 June 2018, via Facebook.
التحرش الجنسي بالأقوال أو الأفعال او الإيحاءات شديد التأثير على كرامة الضحايا، ولا سيما النساء والفتيات. فضح المتحرش ليس جريمة، لا سيما بدافع الحماية من عواقب اشد وقعاً، القضاء اللبناني معني بانصاف الضحايا الى حين اقرار القانون تجريم التحرش #هيي_مش_لوحدا#هل_هو_متحرش
“Sexual harassment through words, actions, or insults has a profound impact on the dignity of victims, especially women and girls. Exposing the harasser is not a crime, but actually works to protect people from more severe consequences. The Lebanese judiciary is responsible to treat victims with justice until the law that criminalizes harassment is passed. #She_Is_Not_Alone #Is_He_A_Harasser.”
– Bassam Alkantar, 21 June 2018, via Twitter.
English translation of the post:
“Are you a man? Do you spend your day trying to silence women talking about sexual violence through teasing them, denying harassment, justifying harassment, bullying them, or making harassment a minor issue? Are you bothered by talks about harassment?
If you answered “yes” to one or all of the posed questions, then you are probably…yes, you are a harasser!”
“It’s not a small issue to talk about me. It’s not a small issue to whistle at me in the streets. It’s not a small issue to wink at me. It’s not a small issue to put your hand on my thigh in a cab. It’s not a small issue to silence me. It’s not a small issue to comment about the way I look. It’s not a small issue to follow me on the streets. It’s not a small issue to follow me in university. It’s not a small issue to touch me. It’s not a small issue to take advantage of me at work. It’s not a small issue to eye me up and down. It’s not a small issue to look at me.”
Is_He_A_Harasser we decide, not you #She_Is_Not_Alone.”
– Abeer Zeidan, 21 June 2018, via Twitter.
We hope that more and more victims come out about their harassers and publicly shame them, rather than be publicly shamed themselves, and with efforts such as these, perhaps one day we will live in a country where that is the norm.
