Lebanese Men and Women Protest against Rape

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On January 14, 2012, hundreds of people defied the rain and took to the streets of Beirut to protest against rape.

Protesters marched from Sanayeh to Riad El Solh square in Downtown Beirut, where security officers cordoned off the area to prevent them from reaching the Lebanese Parliament. 

As the crowds gathered in the square, organizers read statements that called upon the Lebanese Parliament to: 

> Pass the draft law for the Protection from Family Violence as it has been written and with no delay. 

> Intensify punitive measures against rapists and those who attempt rape, amending the respective law. 

> Treat verbal harassment as physical harassment, especially in the work place, making it a crime subject to judicial penalties.

> Deal with complaints related to sexual violence with rigor and consistency. The Interior Ministry and the Municipalities should also apply those measures. The three bodies should work to make the streets and neighborhoods safe, especially during the night-time, by ensuring proper street-lighting, and permitting women to carry tools of self-defense, like taser guns and pepper spray.

The march was organized by the Beirut-based feminist collective Nasawiya.