Lebanon: Support line offers safe outlet to talk about sexual harassment

Source: The Daily Star | Olivia Alabaster

Victims of sexual harassment, which is not outlawed in Lebanon, now have an outlet for their fears and frustrations, in the form of a 24-hour support line provided by the Feminist collective Nasawiya.

The support line officially launched in December, and Farah Kobaissy, who is manning the line, said she has already received several calls, from both men and women.

The purpose of the line, Kobaissy said, was to provide a safe place, devoid of judgment, where people could vocalize the harassment they had experienced in an anonymous way.

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“We are here to listen, to support you and to give advice if that’s what you are looking for,” Kobaissy told The Daily Star.

“It’s so important to have such a line, where people can talk about their experiences without being judged.”

“The community we are creating is very important. We want to communicate the idea that if you are sexually harassed you do not have to feel like a victim,” she added.

“We are an open community and you can come to us and we will support you.”

While Kobaissy and colleagues received several months’ worth of training, on how to field calls, and exactly what advice to give to callers, she stressed that, “we are not professionals: We are here to provide support in the form of a sisterhood.”

However, in certain cases, Nasawiya will offer more than just a sounding board. “If there is a need for intervention, we have a referral system. We can, if the caller wants to take legal action, recommend a lawyer to speak to, or a doctor, if they are looking for medical support.”

Kobaissy also encourages those calling the support line to visit the Nasawiya center in person to discuss their experiences.

“It’s very important to have direct relations with people: It’s not always enough to talk on the phone.”

However, as some callers are embarrassed, not even wanting to say their name, they prefer the anonymity of the phone. “You have to respect their choice,” Kobaissy said. “We simply suggest, if they want to, they can come and meet us in person.”

Last year, under the Nasawiya umbrella, Kobaissy founded the Adventures of Salwa project, a sexual harassment awareness campaign, which also provides a forum for women to discuss their experiences and to coordinate campaigns for the criminalization of sexual harassment, which is against the law in many countries around the world.

At last month’s Beirut protest against rape and sexual harassment, organized by Nasawiya, campaigners handed out “Salwa” bags, which included information on the support line, along with a flashlight and a whistle. The group also disseminates information through universities across Lebanon.

Kobaissy believes there are often misunderstandings, from both genders, on just what “sexual harassment” constitutes, and the Salwa project is trying to more clearly define the term.

“On both sides there can be confusion. Some people see sexual harassment as merely flirting, and believe they are expressing a positive feeling. They don’t know that what they are doing is very bad,” she said.

“Some people think cat calls are innocent, but they are a form of sexual harassment as they can seem very threatening to a woman walking alone late at night.”

Some men, Kobaissy added, simply do not know how to approach a woman without crossing the line into “sexual harassment” territory.

At Nasawiya, members are working to “make it clear that this is not the right way to approach a woman.”

Nasawiya is now working intensively to promote the support line service, and so expect an increase in calls soon. The group is also developing a smart phone app, through which people will be able to directly contact the sexual harassment helpline.

The Sexual Harassment Support Line in Lebanon can be reached at 76-676 368 and is open 24 hours a day. The Nasawiya House is in Mar Mikhael, off Fleming Street, Medawar 1099 Bldg., Ground Floor and more information about the collective can be found at http://www.nasawiya.org/web/.