The Daily Star
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BEIRUT: Lioba Hirsch had just about learned to deal with the remarks about her skin color. Having Togolese heritage, she had unwillingly attracted the glares of men in the street and learned how to respond when harassed.
It was only when one of them touched her that her temper frayed.“I was walking in the street and a guy came up to me from behind. He lifted my skirt and touched my bum,” she said.
“I turned around and he wasn’t even running way; it was more of a quick walk. That’s what made me really angry: that he thought he could just get away with it.”
Hirsch’s story is depressingly similar to countless tales of sexual harassment told by women who suffer at the hands – and occasionally other body parts – of Lebanon’s male gawkers.
Tired of a lack of discussion on an issue so prevalent that it has nearly become an accepted part of Lebanese society, Alex Shams decided to take matters in hand. A social activist, Shams wanted to create a space in which victims of harassment could share their experiences. The result was Qawame (Resist) Harassment.
Launched in April, Qawame Harassment is a website that allows those who have encountered sexual advances to talk about their ordeals. It provides them with an online space to express that which so often goes undisclosed.
“The aim of the blog is to provide a forum for people to share and discuss various harassments that have happened. When harassment happens, no one talks about it. Women have learned to consider that harassment is something ordinary and that has just to be dealt with,” Shams said.
“It was important for us to reintroduce the idea that harassment is something that is wrong with society, to make people aware of the fact that the majority of men don’t know this is going [on] or they think it is benign.”
Shams and his small cluster of fellow activists define sexual harassment as any kind of unsolicited attention, be it verbal or physical, on an individual to make them feel uncomfortable or intimidated. Stories posted on the blog vary from the depraved to the downright shocking.
One poster, who identified herself as CMF, told of a bus trip she had taken to Jbeil, on which the driver touched her inappropriately as she attempted to alight.
“Whilst [he] exchanged places with me in this very small corridor of the bus to – apparently – get a better grip at the door, he slightly touched my bum. A second later the door was open and I left immediately,” CMF wrote.
Another contributor, who gave her initials as CN, described the time a man exposed himself to a group of women while they were walking in Hamra at night.
“My friend immediately started running while I chose to ignore him and walk a bit faster [I realized he couldn’t catch up with us considering he was pretty wasted or high]. We were terrified and angry at the same time I just didn’t know what to do though I reallyyyy wish I could’ve punched him or something,” CN wrote.
“The incident still pisses me off but I’m a small person so there really isn’t much I can do in terms of physical defense. It SERIOUSLY felt like rape! It was practically moral rape considering the things he said actually!”
Shams said he hoped the website, which also allows users to post on Google Maps the exact time and location of an assault, would raise awareness of sexual harassment for both sexes.
“Being able to share these experiences in a way that allows men as well to be aware of the consequences of harassment is also important. I have had so many experiences talking to women I know. When I ask them about the issue, then they have stories to share,” he said.
“It seems like people have given up on [tackling sexual harassment]. This campaign is one effort to eliminate that. Really, unfortunately, there is no discussion about it and there is not much going on in Lebanon on the issue of harassment. So many people who are mad about the issue because they experienced it don’t know how to respond,” he added.
Hirsch said that the website offered the chance to tackle one of the biggest problems faced by females in society – male ignorance that sexual harassment is, for many women, an everyday occurrence, tolerated and even perpetuated by many men.
“I think I was one of the first people [to write on the blog] and I could easily think of two or three stories [of harassment] right away,” she said. “It’s a good way of showing this. Just by writing it down it’s good to share. It’s important to know that it’s not your fault,” Hirsch added.
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