BEIRUT, LEBANON — Leo Burnett Lebanon has launched its latest campaign for ABAAD – a reminder that in spite of the current economic crisis in Lebanon, prioritising women’s safety is as important as ever.
It’s a been a difficult year for Lebanon following the Beirut blast, COVID lockdowns and an economic crisis. So, this year Leo Burnett decided to launch a grassroots campaign to coincide with 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence – an annual international campaign that runs from 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) and runs until 10 December (Human Rights Day).
Earlier this week, women in different Beirut locations held up messages highlighting the dilemma of favoring a specific Lebanese priority (i.e. lack of electricity, hunger, etc) versus the protection of women living in Lebanon against abuse.
To put things in context, the agency then revealed a film on social channels: “The country’s crises are many. But our protection can’t be postponed any longer. When it comes to priorities, there is not one to be favored. It’s always time to address women’s safety.”
ABAAD: One out of two women in Lebanon considers that women’s protection should be a priority
The campaign is designed to raise awareness of a recent national ABAAD survey, which shows one out of two women in Lebanon considers that women’s protection should be a priority during the ongoing crisis that the country is witnessing, whereas 96% of young girls and women residing in Lebanon who have experienced domestic violence in 2021 stated that they had never reported it.
The survey highlights the priorities of young women and girls and the challenges they face in light of the current reality in Lebanon: 3 out of 5 women reported that economic challenges are the most prominent struggle they are facing at the present time, while 2 out of 5 women who took the survey affirmed that they refrained from reporting violence out of fear of the perpetrator’s reaction.
Ghida Anani, Director of ABAAD stated, “While we fully understand that the current reality in Lebanon is difficult for everyone, and that the multiple crises afflicting the country are a burden on all citizens without exception, this does not mean that the protection of women can become a lesser priority, at a time when all statistics, studies and surveys that we are conducting with women, girls and right-holders indicate a dramatic increase in the rates of violence in all its forms.”
This study falls within the context of a national campaign launched by ABAAD in collaboration with Leo Burnett Lebanon under the banner “Deyman Waata” on the occasion of the global 16 Days of Activism campaign to end violence against women and g
“This year, we have received approximately 314 calls a month on the safe-line for emergency assistance and to report gender based violence especially the domestic one, at a time when many women and young girls in Lebanon remain reluctant to report the violence they face due to the prioritization of family considerations, which gravely jeopardizes their lives. Protecting women and young girls is a right to them and a duty to all of us, and what is needed today is complete earnestness and due diligence in the state’s response to this issue, both in terms of prevention and service provision”, Anani adds.
