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Local NGO Launches Awareness Campaign On Cyber Sexual Violence In Lebanon
Under the title “Screens Do Not Protect”, local feminist NGO Fe-Male has launched a national campaign to raise awareness on cyber-sexual violence and encourage victims to speak up.
There is no one definition for cyber-sexual violence, but some of its forms include:
– Cyber-harassment and cyber-stalking
– Distributing sexual recordings, images, or messages without consent
– Luring and online exploitation of minors by adults
– Online sexual assault, constant threats of sexual assault
– Sextorsion or “sexual blackmail” in which a person is threatened with the distribution of sexual images or information
Since the beginning of lockdown in Lebanon, there has been a 186% increase in online harassment and sextortion reports from women between the ages of 12 and 55.
The campaign looks to protect women’s right to safe Internet access in the Arab world, and ensure that perpetrators be held accountable for their crimes.
In 2019 alone, two young girls died by suicide in Lebanon after falling victim to cyber-violence, and a third young girl survived her suicide attempt. We can only imagine the fear that these young women lived in, and we can only blame our society for blaming and shaming victims rather than protecting them.
This culture needs to be retracted at any cost, and Fe-Male’s campaign is an excellent start.
For more information, click here.
There is no one definition for cyber-sexual violence, but some of its forms include:
– Cyber-harassment and cyber-stalking
– Distributing sexual recordings, images, or messages without consent
– Luring and online exploitation of minors by adults
– Online sexual assault, constant threats of sexual assault
– Sextorsion or “sexual blackmail” in which a person is threatened with the distribution of sexual images or information
Since the beginning of lockdown in Lebanon, there has been a 186% increase in online harassment and sextortion reports from women between the ages of 12 and 55.
The campaign looks to protect women’s right to safe Internet access in the Arab world, and ensure that perpetrators be held accountable for their crimes.
@FeMaleComms @HayatMirshad pic.twitter.com/QGjL5vDfoh
— Larissa Aoun (@LarissaAounSky) May 8, 2020
In 2019 alone, two young girls died by suicide in Lebanon after falling victim to cyber-violence, and a third young girl survived her suicide attempt. We can only imagine the fear that these young women lived in, and we can only blame our society for blaming and shaming victims rather than protecting them.
— Ahmad M. Yassine (@Lobnene_Blog) May 8, 2020
This culture needs to be retracted at any cost, and Fe-Male’s campaign is an excellent start.
For more information, click here.
