Campaigner

A White Dress Doesn’t Cover the Rape #Undress522

"The UN SDG Action Awards gave us the motivational push we needed at a time when Lebanon was facing, and continues to face, compound challenges, and served as a reminder that hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. We have a big goal to achieve and are more determined than ever to pursue our mission and make a difference in the lives of women and girls."

Narod Haroutunian, Public Affairs Coordinator, ABAAD – Resource Center for Gender Equality

BEIRUT, Lebanon – A White Dress Does Not Cover the Rape was a national campaign that aimed to abolish Article 522 of the Lebanese penal code. The latter allowed men, who had been convicted of sexual assault, abduction, or statutory rape against a woman, to avoid penalty of no less than five years of hard labor if a valid contract of marriage could be provided. The article was considered as blatant discrimination against women and girls.

ABAAD’s campaign began in September of 2016, but was officially launched during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (25 November to 10 December 2016). The campaign consisted of a series of creative advocacy activities, highlighting the human rights violation of forcing a woman or girl to marry her rapist. The campaign aimed to mobilize public awareness to strengthen legislation that protects women and girls from sexual violence and exploitation in Lebanon, while spurring change in social norms to adequately respond to sexual violations.

On 7 December 2016, Lebanon’s Parliamentary Committee for Administration and Justice announced their recommendation to repeal Article 522. The awareness campaign grew rapidly, with millions of people globally supporting the cause. The campaign resulted in a historical vote of the Lebanese parliament repealing article 522 on 16 June 2017.

What is new with this initiative since winning an UN SDG Action Award?

Since winning an UN SDG Action Award, ABAAD has been primarily focused on providing life-saving services to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). GBV cases have unfortunately been on the rise, with Lebanon facing an economic crisis in addition to the ongoing pandemic.

In 2020, ABAAD launched the #LockdownNotLockup campaign to confront domestic violence. The objective was to send messages of solidarity women, while mobilizing neighborhoods to play an active role in communicating ABAAD’s crisis helpline number to those in need by hanging banners outside of their homes.

In 2021, another bold campaign was launched, based on a national survey conducted by ABAAD illustrating that one in two women believe that women’s protection should be prioritized during the ongoing crisis, and that 96% of young girls and women residing in Lebanon who have experienced domestic violence in 2021 had not reported it. Under the theme of #PriorityToo, ABAAD collaborated with the National Commission for Lebanese Women to roll out a campaign to emphasize the urgency of this issue. One major achievement was when the Parliament of Lebanon endorsed a landmark law criminalizing sexual harassment.