Lebanon launches new campaign to combat violence against refugee women and children

The number of refugees in Lebanon has now reached 25 per cent of the total population. 78 per cent of the ever-increasing number or Syrian refugees, who currently number around 824,000, are women and children. 79,000 refugees coming from Syria are still awaiting registration at the borders. According to a recent report from Human Rights Watch (HRW), the most vulnerable are “disproportionately affected by Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV)”. A growing attitude amongst female refugees to return to the war-torn country they only just fled has been detected, as rape and sexual harassment has made life in Lebanon unbearable. (Beirut, 4rd Dec, 2013)