When no still doesn't mean no: There's still a long way to go to combat sexual harassment in Lebanon

The recent sexual harassment scandal at the George Sarraf public high school in Tripoli, Lebanon, took to social media like wildfire, raising support for the young girls that teacher Samer Mawlawi verbally and physically harassed over the years.

Following a sit-in protest by the students, and accusations that the school’s director was covering up for the teacher, by refusing to act on previous complaints and evidence, Mawlawi has been suspended.

A committee of 10 students formed to file a lawsuit against him, that is currently awaiting court proceedings and will include all current and previous students’ testimonies and evidence from decades of misconduct.

"In 2020, a new law (205) was passed that for the first time criminalised sexual harassment [in Lebanon], but concern over loopholes in the law, the effectiveness of enforcement and its practical application for legal procedures has been voiced"

It was 16-year-old Ghinna Dannaoui who spoke up and reported the inappropriate behaviour on behalf of herself and fellow classmates too nervous to say anything. 

“At first there were a lot of rumours about the professor that he wasn’t good and had odd behaviour, and then in class we started to see that he was overstepping boundaries, touching the girls a lot and saying inappropriate things,” Ghinna told The New Arab. “He insulted me, said ‘shut your mouth, you idiot.’ I told him he had no right to speak to me like that and he got angry, started shouting at the girls in the class, saying that we needed a ‘boot to the head.’

“We informed the headmistress at the time and she told us to put everything in writing to give to the school director which we did as a group,” she added. “The director took aside two girls to try and convince them otherwise, saying how well behaved they are and that they’re at the age to be married. He said nothing about the teacher’s behaviour and focused only on trying to make the girls forget about the issue.”

Unwilling to back down, Ghinna took to social media to make her case and then organised the protest, after the director threatened her with a defamation lawsuit on behalf of Mawlawi. A lawsuit against Mawlawi and the school is now in effect. 

“The teacher had a bad reputation for 10 years and before he was fired from many schools and moved around a lot because of that,” Ghinna said. “In the comments on the post I made, there were girls from years ago that started speaking about their struggles with this teacher.

“He once put his hand on my shoulder so I pushed him off. I saw a girl in my class who was fixing her appearance in the mirror and he hugged her from behind, saying how beautiful she was,” she added. “He would always pretend to be pointing out a passage in a textbook and then put his arm around the girl to do it.”

While the case has gained a lot of attention and has been heralded as a step in the right direction for Lebanon’s #MeToo movement, it also highlights the lack of support from official channels and an archaic mentality still in full effect. 

In 2020, a new law (205) was passed that for the first time criminalised sexual harassment, but concern over loopholes in the law, the effectiveness of enforcement and its practical application for legal procedures have been voiced.

The law defines sexual harassment as “any bad and repetitive behaviour that is extraordinary, unwelcome by the victim, and with a sexual connotation that constitutes a violation of the body, privacy, or emotions.” 

"We shouldn’t have to deal with this burden while trying to study and think about our futures.... No one should be scared to speak up if they experienced anything like this"

The law punishes sexual harassment with up to one year in prison and fines of up to 10 times the minimum wage. For some cases, including sexual harassment from someone in a position of power – such as harassment of a subordinate at work – prison time and fines can be increased to up to four years and 50 times the minimum wage.

Due to cases being handled in court – a process that could take two to three years – rights watchdog Legal Agenda has criticised the law’s effectiveness for protection of the victim, especially in the workplace, where victims would still be expected to attend work until the court case was finished. A loss of employment would be a risk they have to bear when braving a court case they may or may not win, as the harasser would be notified who was filing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit must also be filed within a certain time frame and there must be evidence of harassment, which can be hard to prove.

Gender equality NGO Abaad founder Ghida Anani said the new law has “a slow implementation mechanism that often has shortcomings in performance, from the stage of notification to protection [of the victim], especially since the current economic hardships mean most women do not attach importance to reporting, in favour of basic life insurance, [in the form of employment or security from a spouse].

“The challenge lies in societal solidarity to reduce harassment crimes by spreading awareness and urging the prosecution of perpetrators,” she added. “We are concerned about the increase in the number of these crimes due to the negative consequences of the Corona pandemic and Lebanon’s multiple crises on mental health… so Abaad  has launched ‘Ready to Hear a Story’ within our Men's Listening Centre, which helps men receive psychological support.”

Tripoli-based gender equality NGO Mousawat has spent years trying to tackle sexual harassment and change social constructs in the more conservative northern city.  Through awareness campaigns and workshops, Mousawat is trying to educate Tripolitans with programmes on gender quality, men’s participation in housework and child care, marriage, decision making for women, and sexual harassment.

“We found that 60 percent of people we spoke to didn't know about the 205 law and more than 75 percent didn't know the exact definition of sexual harassment. Many think sexual harassment is only when rape happens,” Mousawat director Mohammad Younis told The New Arab. “After we explained the definition of sexual harassment, more than 90 percent of our beneficiaries said they had experienced sexual harassment, including the men.”

In 2021, Mousawat worked with 50 taxi drivers to rework their preconceived notions on sexual harassment for a month. They hope to keep the programme going, as many of their beneficiaries said they had experienced harassment in public transport.

“[The drivers] believe that the reason behind sexual harassment is to do with what the woman is wearing or how she's acting in public,” Younis said. “If she's wearing perfume, for example, some see it as an invitation for sexual harassment, but when we show them statistics about how most sexual harassment is done to women wearing hijab or with children, they start to rethink."

Alongside their Badi Balegh (I Want to Report) campaign – which encourages everyone to report if they experience or witness sexual harassment taking place – Mousawat has been working with municipal police to train officers on handling reported incidents. Self-defence classes for girls are also planned.

Ghinna says she has little faith in the judiciary system but that people should speak up regardless, as even if the harasser isn’t convicted, it will socially discourage others from the same behaviour. 

“We shouldn’t have to deal with this burden while trying to study and think about our futures,” the young girl said. “No one should be scared to speak up if they experienced anything like this and this teacher should be made an example of for anyone else thinking along the same lines. We’re not alone and together, as girls, we’re stronger.”

Maghie Ghali is a British-Lebanese journalist based in Beirut. She worked for The Daily Star Lebanon and writes as a freelancer for a number of publications, including The National, Al Arabiya English, Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye, on arts and culture/design, environment and humanitarian topics.

Follow her on Twitter: @mghali6