15% Lebanese children Sexually abused

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15 percent of children sexually abused: poll
Ministers 'to address problem

BEIRUT: A survey of 1,025 children across Lebanon has found that over 15 percent of those polled experienced some form of sexual abuse before or after the 2006 summer war with Israel. Most of these abuses, according to the study, occurred in the child's own home.

The survey, conducted by Save the Children Sweden and KAFA - Enough Violence and Exploitation, found that 16.1 percent of the children surveyed had experienced at least one form of sexual abuse. The average age of the child victim was 10.3 years old.

According to the rights groups' investigation, the incidence of child sexual abuse was not affected by gender, religion, or level of family education.

"The study reveals, as most global studies have found, that a large proportion of these children are sexually harassed and violated by the people closest to them," Ruba Khoury, country manager for Save the Children Sweden, said in prepared remarks at the Beirut Bar Association Friday, during a presentation of the study's findings.

"The basic fact," she said, "is that children need the support of adults; if they have been violated and sexually abused they need care and support for a long time to regain confidence and trust in the adult world as well as in themselves."

The study defined sexual abuse as "subjection to direct sexual acts," "subjection to indirect sexual acts" or attempts at either of the two.

Speaking with The Daily Star, Khoury called the findings "alarming" due to of the perceived importance of family values and social and cultural protections in Lebanon.

But the level of abuse, she added, was no worse than in many other countries.

The study, the first of its kind in Lebanon, also researched the prevalence of child sexual abuse during the month-long 2006 summer war. Nearly 5 percent of the children polled alluded to some form of sexual abuse during the conflict. The majority of the abuse targeted boys.

Social Affairs Minister Mario Aoun, who attended the conference Friday, told The Daily Star that the problem of child sexual abuse in Lebanon is of "special and major importance."

He said that he was organizing and working with a team of advisers and ministers "to address the problem ... [and] to protect the children."

Aoun added, that among other things, he had issued a directive to provide assistance to victims of sexual abuse.

Khoury praised the government's proactive stance. "The government has been very supportive providing all the resources we need," she said.

Lebanon became party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991 and signed on to additional protocols in 2002 and 2004, but the prevalence of abuse, the social stigma related to reporting abuse and certain difficulties in enforcement continue to present significant hurdles. "Lots of cases are still going unreported," Ghida Anani, a program coordinator for KAFA and a co-author of the study, told The Daily Star.

In addition, the findings showed that cases of sexual abuse involving girl victims were treated with greater secrecy. And focus group discussions (FDGs) held in conjunction with the study revealed that many victims were reluctant to identify their abusers, particularly if the abuser was a family member.

Khoury said that Save the Children was working on a helpline, preparing trainers, and creating more programs to elevate awareness of the problem in families and schools.

Anani, whose group, KAFA, works with Save the Children, cited similar initiatives including boosting the number of front line personnel, increasing support to victims and advocating for a new child protection law.

"We need clear legal measures [to protect children]," she said, "but we are also for the psychological rehabilitation of the abuser ... healing the abuser."

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