Training for Social Worker in Lebanon
Workshop on "Sexual Exploitation of Syrian Women and early Marriage of Syrian Girls"
Syrian Refugee Settlement in the Bekaa
HSS
According to a study by the Lebanese University of Saint-Joseph, 23% of the Syrian women in Lebanon are married before 18 years of age. Many girls are forced to marry non-Syrian men, they are isolated from their families, and the risk is increased that they become victims of human trafficking. Child marriage existed in Syria before the start of the conflict, but the war and the huge number of Syrian refugees have led to a dramatic increase in the number of girls marriages in Lebanon. In the refugee settlements in Lebanon, families increasingly choose to marry their daughters at a young age, while on the other hand they try to survive with the few resources and to protect their girls from sexual violence. Child marriage, however, is guided by the misunderstanding that the marriage provides a better future for girls, and that the daughters as a married woman are more respected in society.
Dr. Norma Helo
MoSA
Early Marriage
The aim of the workshop, which took place from February 1 - 2, 2018 in Tripoli, was to discuss with staff from the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), the Ministry of Health, social workers working in the Social Development Center, as well as employees of local NGOs, working directly with Syrian refugees, the possibilities how to deal with this issues. This includes, for example, the dissemination of information to Syrian women about access to health care clinics, access to relief centers for growing girls and women in precarious situations, and the provision of educational and information facilities, especially with regard to child marriage and its consequences. Young women have a higher risk of domestic abuse and girls who are 15 years of age die five times more frequently at birth compared to young women in the twenties. Young children are stolen from their childhood and the possibility of becoming an equal partner in marriage.
Social Worker from North Lebanon
MoSA
Sexual Exploitation
In addition to the above the participants were sensitized to the sexual exploitation of Syrian women in Lebanon. Since many Syrian women in Lebanon have no legal residence status, the risk of sexual exploitation (prostitution, rape) is increased. Women from Syria are harassed and pressured by employers, landowners and even faithful representatives in Lebanon. Most women do not report the incidents, partly due to a lack of residence permits, but also from lack of confidence in the local authorities, fear of reprisals by the perpetrators, or because of the risk of being arrested. Employees of NGOs and social workers must therefore be able to identify indicators of exploitation, coercion and utilization of the precarious situation of women, and serve as a point of contact for the affected women.
The workshop, organized in cooperation with MoSA, was the second on this topic. For a first group of social workers (Bekaa area) a similar workshop was conducted in October 2017 in Zahleh.