In his book entitled “A Child Called “It””, Dave Pelzer wrote “Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul”. And how many kids did we see playing in the sun, who were in fact living in an absolute nightmare because of abuse?
Canadian Red Cross defines child abuse as “any form of physical, emotional and/or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that causes injury or emotional damage to a child or youth …” Emotional abuse, exposure to family violence, physical abuse and sexual abuse are all forms of child abuse. When we say abuse, two sides are taken into consideration: the abuser and the person being abused. In this case, the latter is a child. What can we say about Child Abuse and the Convention of the Rights of the Child? What is the situation in Lebanon, and what is being done regarding this issue?
Rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child
According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is any person below the age of 18. As such, just like any other person, s/he has rights. Article 19 (protection from all forms of violence) states that “Children have the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, physically or mentally. Governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them…” In addition, Article 34 affirms that it is the government’s duty to protect children from any form of sexual exploitation and abuse. Finally, Article 39 discusses the cases of Rehabilitation, where “Children who have been neglected, abused or exploited should receive special help to physically and psychologically recover and reintegrate into society…” By looking at these three articles and comparing them to actual incidents and/or cases of child abuse, we can say that they are definitely not applied. Sadly, the right to be protected from being hurt is being violated on regular basis, if not even daily.
According to a factsheet published by the World Health Organization (WHO)[1], abuse has many consequences. Aside from bruises and physical injuries, it can lead to development delays, drug abuse, depression, stress disorders, self-harm and many more. The fact sheet also states that parent training and home visiting programs can be implemented in order to prevent child abuse or at least help reduce child maltreatment rates. Since child abuse has become a global problem, many countries took the initiatives to deal with and solve this issue.
Himaya: for the innocence in danger.
NGOs like Himaya took the initiative to raise awareness about abuse in order to have a needed impact on our society. Himaya is a Lebanese Non-Governmental Organization that aims to break the silence regarding child abuse. Its work is dedicated to making child protection a right for everyone in the country. In 2014, Himaya dealt with 711 cases of abuse, nearly half of which are considered psychological ones. According to a study published on Study.com, psychological abuse “can be defined as the systematic use of malicious manipulation through nonphysical acts against an intimate partner, child, or dependent adult…” Himaya works with children, their families and surroundings as a whole. Since December 2014, the NGO have worked with 3560 children and 849 parents.
Kim Heshmé, head of the Communication department in Himaya, says that the main targets they reach for are the youngsters and their parents. The NGO wants to give them the needed strength to speak out. “Even after we launched our first controversial campaign in 2011 to break the taboo about child abuse, we noticed that the impact was an important one but was not enough. It is a daily struggle to get people to speak out and report abuse when they see it. Our aim is to keep persevering by raising awareness among youngsters and their parents in order not only to provide them with the self-protection tools they need, but also to give them the strength it takes to say ‘This is not okay and it’s my right and duty to report!”, Kim says. “Dealing with abuse cases is not the hard part of our work. Our main challenge is to get victims of abuse or their surroundings to have the courage to speak out and trust that there are both dedicated people and organizations out there willing to help.”
As mentioned above, 711 cases of abuse were detected by Himaya in 2014. Given that many cases of abuse could not be detected, partly because concerned people did not have the courage to speak out, the actual number should be truly tremendous. Himaya provide an ongoing support system for victims of abuse.
The story of Sarah
This story goes back to October 2014. It is just a typical example of stories happening in our small society. Luckily, this one was acknowledged. Sarah’s parents separated when she was only 7 years old. Shortly after the divorce, the father left and never came back. Soon enough, Sarah’s mother got married to Samir, thinking he would be the support she needed for Sarah and her brother Rami. Everything was okay at the beginning. After a while, Samir’s behavior started to change. Rami was his first victim. For wetting his bed, Samir used to continuously punch Rami in the face. One day, while the mother was not home, Samir took this chance to approach Sarah. “I don’t think you really love me, because if you did, you would have sex with me now”, he would say. The sexual abuse went on for 5 brutal years. Sarah was ashamed to tell anyone, even to her mother, in fear of her thinking that her husband was cheating on her own daughter. Samir’s behavior was noticed by the neighbors, who asked Sarah one day, when she was having lunch with them, about what was happening in the house. For she hesitated between telling the truth or “protecting” her family, her answer was ambiguous. Following their instincts, the neighbors contacted Himaya and convinced Sarah to speak out. At first, she only told what happened with her brother. Himaya’s psychologist provided the needed environment for Sarah to finally speak out about her own experience. Devastated by the terrible news, Sarah’s mother admitted she had been feeling that something was happening, but was too scared to say anything because of her husband’s uncontrollable behavior. Sarah’s mother got the guidance she needed to file a lawsuit against her husband for physical abuse, sexual abuse and rape. Samir was soon convicted and taken out of the household. Today, Sarah’s relationship with her mother needs a lot of work. That work is supported and provided by Himaya’s social workers and psychologists. Sarah was traumatized and Rami has isolated himself from any social interaction. It is a long way to go. But soon enough, they might both realize that there are no victims of abuse, only survivors.
Child abuse: the reality
Child abuse can have many causes, which differ from one country to another. In Lebanon and according to Himaya, the highest number of cases (278 cases) was detected in the North followed by 211 cases in the Bekaa valley. The main problem with child abuse is how to detect the cases, because many of them remain unacknowledged. Therefore, people have to understand the importance of reporting a case of abuse once noticed. According to Himaya’s procedures, any citizen can report a case of abuse to the concerned authorities: the Juveniles Division in the Ministry of Justice (مصلحة الأحداث في وزارة العدل) or the Juveniles Protection Division in the Ministry of Social Affairs (دائرة حماية الأحداث في وزارة الشؤون الإجتماعية). If the case turned out to be false or inaccurate, the person who reported would not face legal prosecution in any way. What is needed is the name of the person being abused (if it is known), his/her address and telephone number, or any type of information that can be helpful to contact the concerned people.
Dealing with child abuse can be a very risky and challenging task in a society and country like ours. People are still hesitant, even afraid, to report a child abuse case once noticed and recognized. Many cases remain unknown to the competent authorities and the concerned organizations. Abusing a child, whether physically, sexually or psychologically, is very dangerous and will lead to many harmful effects. On the other hand, it is the people’s duty to report a case to the concerned authorities in Lebanon. They need to be aware of the fact that hesitation or ignoring a case just for the sake of a family’s own reputation is wrong. When we report a case, we are definitely saving an innocent child. We are limiting the negative consequences on his/her life. It’s time to act and report now.
[1] Available at http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs150/en/
