Sector Progress
Since January, more than 19,000 women, girls and boys, including those at risk or survivors of violence, participated in activities, which provided opportunities for social workers to engage them on women’s and children’s rights, and peer-to-peer emotional support. Survivors were able to regain confidence in themselves, recreate social and support networks with others, feel less isolated.
There are three mid-way houses in Lebanon, which provide 24/7 immediate protection services to survivors who need to be removed from an immediate situation of danger. Such incidents may include survivors of SGBV, tracked persons who have been sexually exploited or children being forced into marriage. Survivors are provided with both psycho-social and medical support in house, which allows maximum confidentiality and protection. This includes mental health services, legal services such as protection orders and counselling on divorce and custody. During their stay, women and girls learn new skills share experiences and learn from each other about positive coping strategies Survivors with specific skills, such as a language skill, are encouraged to share these to other women in the mid-way house which helps them to feel empowered and valuable to others.
Social stigma is high and survivors fear that reporting will lead to retaliation and further violence either from the perpetrator or from the survivor’s own family. In order to ensure that the best and safest services are provided, law enforcement, medical and social workers, are being trained on how to approach survivors in a non-discriminatory and non-judgmental manner, how to protect confidentiality and how to ensure that their protection is based in the Lebanese legal framework. A pool of trainers on domestic violence and anti-tracking law is now operational within the Internal Security Forces and has been training emergency police units and judicial departments in the rst quarter of 2016.
So far 236 social workers in charge of individual support to survivors and psychosocial activities, and Internal Security Forces ocers have been enrolled in these capacity building programmes, while more than 350 community focal points and frontline workers from health, shelter, water and sanitation programmes have been trained to safely identify and refer SGBV survivors for care should they be asked support by a community member.
In February the sector identified funding shortcoming in Tripoli, Beirut and South to continue specialized legal counseling and representation, safe shelter option for boys above 12 years old and tailored psychosocial support activities for LGBTI survivors. Emergency Relief Funds have been granted in order to avoid interruption in provision of these lifesaving services.