Dignity for displaced women and girls in Lebanon

Background during and after the implementation of the project;

The facts shows  in the physical assessment done by Naba’a team, where it seeks to address some of the sensitive problems faced by both displaced adolescent and young girls who fled from Syria to the Palestinian Refugee camps and those whom are living in the camps. The main problems highlighted as the followings;

1. The negative effect of the displacement and the difficult circumstances on the young and adolescent girls including girls with disability. 
2. Risks that facing the adolescent’s girls and young women who fled from Syria to the Palestinian refugee camps and those who are living inside the camps such risks are (Physical and sexual abuse and harassment, early marriage, violence, etc...)
3. The third problem is that the social and economic conflict occurred among the two communities (Palestinian refugees and Palestinian Syrians and Syrians), particularly among young girls and adolescents.

The young females are socialized into a community that suffers from severe socio-economic distress and discrimination. Their socialization is further characterized by the lack of social and physical space in which they can develop their skills and capacities. Moreover, young women particularly in the camps and neglected targeted constitute a vulnerable group among Lebanese community. They are particularly affected by the high unemployment rates and the socio-economic difficulties associated with it. Socio-economic distress has also contribution to an increasing in the number of early marriage. Moreover, most of the displaced families are headed by women, since their men stayed in Syria for different reasons. In normal situations the life of Palestinian women are marginalized and dominated by men and are not enjoying their rights especially the right of participation, so the situation of the Palestinian Syrian women is more worse where they used to stay at homes and are not engaged in the social life. Therefore, in this unstable and gloomy context, their traditional life is changed, as when they displaced to the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are holding their families together under the most difficult and inhumane of circumstances and do so while at increased risk of their safety and well-being risks, such as (Rape, early marriage, women trafficking and abuse, etc…).

Naba’a Achievements;

During the last three months, Naba’a focused on empowering the skills of the women, supporting them in their basic needs and psychosocial support, particularly young and adolescent women. Therefore, the most highlighted activities implemented during this period;

o   Enrolling 15 adolescent girls in the vocational training centers, these girls are dropped out of schools and at risk of violence, abuse and early marriage.  The adolescent girls is joining the vocational center for six months, where their skills is enhanced through the follow up of the professional teachers, job counselors, community worker and psychologist.

o   Supporting the reproductive health situation for more than 250 women an, young women and adolescents, through regular drop in clinic and individual counseling at Naba’a center followed up by a gynecologist and psychologist.

o   Providing 15 women and girls with hygiene kit targeting those the most impoverished

o   Implementing two advocacy campaign about the right of displaced and refugee women targeting the popular committees, active members, UNRWA, etc…

o   Implementing open days and recreational activities for the Palestinian refugee and displaced children inside the camps.

Case Study, where Naba’a psychologist follow up;

Code: A.W

Age: 32 years old

Sex: Female

Nationality: Syrian

Social Status: Married, has 2 children (Male: 6 years old- Female: 2 years old)

House: Rented

Health Status: Good

The basic problem: Domestic Violence

Kind of Violence:

Physical Abuse

Verbal (Bad words and especially in front of the kids)

Psychological (Demoralize- Not meet the basic needs)

Overview:

She is violated by her husband and even though she keeps silent due to many reasons like: she can’t go to her parents because they can’t afford her in raising the children, she can’t leave her children with the father because she afraid of them, customs and traditions that force her to keep silent and also the bad economic situation.

She was living in Syria with her husband and her kids in a very normal life and good economic situation, but the war forced them coming to Lebanon to live, but they found the life of humiliation, poverty and misery.

First of all they were able to arrange ourselves by finding a small room to live inside but the problem was that the husband didn’t find a job, and that bringing him to become a nervous man creating problems, and not endure the children or anything. He wants the room always clean, quiet and no voice. But that was impossible because the children want to play and watch cartoon. The results was big problems and the wife was confused, she didn’t know if she have to satisfy her husband or satisfy her kids, especially that the husband become yelling and hitting the children in different ways.

The second problem was when the wife forced to go to Syria and here was the major disaster where the husband didn’t ask for her for three days, and she was suspended on the border of Syria and exposed to many problems and even that the husband did not bother to contact her and she called him and he didn’t respond to her calls and in the last time when he answered her she said “What I should do, manage yourself”. When she returned to the house, she found it with chaos state and the children were crying too much, and the father was outside, she asked her son about their father they told her that he was leaving them throughout the day and comes in the evening, she also find their children’s skin is blue because he was hitting them all the time. And when he returned home the wife asked him why he left the children alone? He hits her much. Then he began to roll a Hashish Cigarette in front of the children, which lead her to become crazy and become shouting, so he beats her again and he spits over her face every time she asked him for anything or talking to him. Note that when he got back to the home at night he do now want to see his wife and his children in front of him.

The third problem was that the mother see her husband harassing their daughter. He was tease and touching her body in a strange way where the wife quickly remove the girl from his hands and the father asked her why you take her, she said that she must go to sleep, the mother fears from her husband because he was not endure her, and now he loves her much.

We find that this wife is exposed to violence of all kinds, causing it to break psychologically and physically where he became very emotional toward any word, she cried quickly and frowned she lacked of her weight and looked pale on her face and she became in the last period aggressive where he son told us that she began hit him too.

We notice that the nerve and aggressive transmit to the children by the mother, she emptied what is inside her from feelings, suppression and pressure on her children in a negative way, rather than to find the right solution to the problem.

Interventions:

Individual Counselling session and home visit which assure that her blue skin and interviewing with the son that told us that his father beats him and beats his mother.

Whereas for the third problem we are not sure of the situation, since there is many doubts and we can’t ask the girl due to her age, and may be these allegations is not true and the wife made it because she hates her husband and may be it is the truth. So many home visits should be done in order to get some notes and observations, note that the father now is working to late hour.

The aim of this case study:

Allowing the women to express what is inside  from suppressions and pressures over and that’s through individual counselling sessions one per week in order to relieve those pressures. Also help children through their integration to summer activities