WUNRN
Via KAFA of Lebanon - While this is a step forward in the acknowledgement that such crimes are not to be accepted in Lebanon, much remains to be done on the societal level to change the patriarchal mentality that still puts women under the guardianship of the male family members.
LEBANON REMOVES “HONOR CRIME” ARTICLE FROM ITS PENAL CODE
After
decades of advocacy by the Lebanese women’s movement to abolish the provision
of the so-called “honor killing” from the Lebanese law, the Lebanese Parliament
voted, on the 4th of August 2011, for the removal of Article 562
from it penal code. Article 562 allowed for a person to benefit from mitigating
excuses in the event that this person
surprises his/her spouse, sister, or any relative in the act of adultery
or unlawful copulation and proceeds to kill or injure one or both of the participants without prior intent. While this is a step forward in
the acknowledgement that such crimes are not to be accepted, much remains to be
done on the societal level to change the patriarchal mentality that still puts
women under the guardianship of the male family members.
__________________________________________________________
Cases of Femicide
before the Lebanese Courts
In an attempt to shed the light on the problem of killing of women in Lebanon, KAFA (enough) Violence & Exploitation realized and recently published the English version of its study of Cases of Femicide before the Lebanese Courts conducted by Dr. Azza Chararah Beydoun.
The study analyzes from a gender perspective
written documents of 66 trial proceedings of femicide cases committed between
1978 and 2004 in all Lebanese districts. It shows that the murders committed
represent the tip of the iceberg of pervasive and ongoing family violence
against women.
The trial proceedings provide an exceptional lens for viewing the horror prevailing in the families where one or more of its male members resorted to fatal violence against a female member. A salient finding of this research study is that the gender order within these families had been disrupted, rendering the power relation between the female victim and the defendant "abnormal" by patriarchal standards. It is shown that the killer was as much responsible for the mentioned disruption as the victim: both failed to live up to the expectations of the prescribed roles and proscribed behaviors within the patriarchal gender order; for as much as the female victim was “deviant” from the norm, the defendant was equally a “deficient man”.
The study provides research-based rationale for calling upon the State, and its
legal, security and social institutions, to safeguard women’s right to welfare
and security. It urges policy makers to adopt the proposed law formulated by
KAFA and the “National Coalition for the Legislation of Protection of Women
from Family Violence”, which would make the State exclusive responsibility for
all its citizens, eradicating the basis for ‘private justice’ inherent within
cases of Femicide in our communities. The law to protect women from Family
Violence is a protective and punitive instrument designed to: protect the
privacy of the individuals involved, provide a restraining order against the
abuser, require the abuser to provide financial and medical assistance to the
victim and her children, and oblige any witness of family violence to report
it. The law would also create a special unit within the police to respond to
cases of family violence.
Complete study on Cases of Femicide before the Lebanese Courts is available
in English and in Arabic: http://www.kafa.org.lb/studiesandPublications.aspx?code=8&category=2
“KAFA (enough)
Violence & Exploitation is a Lebanese non-profit, non-political,
non-confessional civil society organization working towards eradicating all
forms of gender-based violence and exploitation of women and children through
advocating for legal reform and change of policies and practices, influencing
public opinion, and empowering women and children”