Meris Lutz
The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Women’s rights advocates welcomed a Parliament committee’s endorsement Monday of a draft law aimed at protecting women from domestic violence, but vowed to continue
fighting to see the law strengthened
and expanded.
“It’s a small positive achievement,”
said Maya Ammar, a communications
officer for the NGO KAFA, which has
spearheaded the campaign to pass the
law. “We knew we didn’t get 100 percent
of what we asked for but we’re
going to continue our work and keep
up the pressure.”
Among the most important aspects
of the law,Ammar said, was the inclusion
of protection mechanisms for
women who report abuse. The version
approved by the committee provides
for the creation of a specialized section
within the Internal Security Forces that
will include more female officers and
be trained to deal with domestic abuse.
This section would have the power
to issue protection orders, analogous to
restraining orders in the U.S. court system,
and refer the woman to a shelter.
Thelawalsoallowswomentotaketheir
abusers to a civil rather than a religious
court, and clarifies abuse penalties.
Activists have lobbied for the adoption
of the draft law for the past three
years, but ran into opposition from
some lawmakers, particularly over
matters pertaining to marital rape and
religious courts.
According to the version that was
approved Monday, the powers of the
religious versus the civil courts are
clearly outlined, a victory for activists.
Marital rape remains a point of contention,
as the law in its current form
does not recognize it as sexual assault.
Supporters of the original draft law
would also like to see the language
changed to make it less general and
address women specifically.
“This law’s not going to be a miracle
but I think that the law allowed us
to open this debate in society,”Ammar
said, adding that KAFA has already
started training ISF personnel on how
to deal with domestic abuse cases.
“The law allowed us to work on the
ground with the people and through
local NGOs and the media to say that
we cannot deal with violence as a private
matter.”
The latest victim of domestic violence
to make the news was 31-yearold
Roula Yaacoub, who was found
beaten and comatose in the northern
town of Halba earlier this month.Yaacoub
died upon arrival to the hospital.
She was allegedly beaten to death by
her husband.
Her death pushed the domestic
abuse issue to the forefront once more,
sparking angry protests in Halba Sunday
and Beirut Monday by activists
urging Parliament the approve the law.
The Joint Committees unanimously
votedtoapprovethecurrentdraftMonday,
and it is expected to be referred to
Parliament for a vote during its next
session, scheduled for next Monday.
BoushraKhoury,arelativeofRoula
Yaacoub, said she was happy that lawmakers
were “on the right path.”
But Khoury added that Yaacoub’s
friends and family hoped to see the law
amended to include many of the original
articles that had been taken out or
weakened, including the one pertaining
to marital rape.
“Roula’s death was a great wound
but we hope this law will ensure that
there will not be another Roula Yaacoub,”
she said.
Some politicians also voiced their
support for the law.
MP Strida Geagea has been a vocal
supporter of the lawin its original form,
leadingtheLebaneseForces’boycottof
the committee after some lawmakers
removed articles and changed the language
to weaken the legislation.
In a statement Monday, Geagea
voiced support for the law, hinting that
she, too, saw it as a start in a longer
process of protecting women’s rights.
“The approval of this draft law is an
important step in response to the
efforts we have made to improve the
status of Lebanese women, and thus
enhance their visibility and prevent the
exposure of their persons, dignity or
rights to violence, exploitation and
extortion,” Geagea said in a statement.
“What has been achieved … is but
one stop on a long march, and we wish
ithadbeenrealizedalongtimeago,but
regardless, it constitutes a breakthrough
by providing opportunities to
demonstrate the power of the Lebanese
woman and her effective participation
in building the nation and society.”
Kataeb MP Sami Gemayel also
threw his support behind the bill, paying
homage to Yaacoub, and expressing
hope no other women would meet
the same fate.
“This draft law makes violence
against women subject to the civil
court system and not to the religious
courts, meaning that no one can speak
of so-called ‘discipline’ [as a justification
for domestic violence],” Gemayel
said. “Any violence against women in
the home or outside it will be subject
to, from now on, after the adoption of
the law, to the civil courts.”
