Since 2020, as COVID-19 confined our lives behind screens, a darker reality emerged: the internet became a new site of violence for women and girls. While schools, workplaces, and public spaces went digital, so did harassment, blackmail, and abuse.
In response, FEMALE, a feminist organization based in Lebanon, took a bold stand to say:
“Screens Do Not Protect.”
Why This Matters: Digital Violence Is Real Violence
Every day, girls and women in Lebanon face cyberstalking, online harassment, non-consensual image sharing, sexual blackmail, and exploitation. With over 100 cases of digital violence reported monthly, and the majority of victims being girls under 20, the threat is undeniable.
What makes it worse? There is no dedicated law in Lebanon to protect women and girls from these crimes. Survivors are left in a legal grey zone unprotected, unheard, and often blamed.
A Feminist Response to a Digital Crisis
This is not just a policy vision, it’s already in motion.
In 2025, FEMALE, in collaboration with a legal committee of experts, worked on drafting the first law in Lebanon to address digital violence against women and girls. This law will ensure that women and girls, whether survivors or victims of online gender-based violence have clear channels for reporting and access to justice.
The law aims to:
- Recognize digital violence as a serious and gendered crime
- Provide strong legal protection and recourse for survivors
- Signal a national commitment to digital justice and gender equality
This initiative is about reclaiming the internet as a space for feminist presence, resistance, and voice. It affirms that just as we fight for bodily autonomy, we also demand digital autonomy, the right to safety, privacy and dignity online.
AI Has Made Things Worse—Fast
As if the threat weren’t urgent enough, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence has amplified the risks for women and girls online.
AI tools now enable:
- The creation of deepfake sexual images and non-consensual pornography
- The automation of harassment, spam attacks, and stalking
- Voice cloning and identity theft that intensify manipulation and blackmail
These technologies have made digital violence more sophisticated, more damaging, and more difficult to trace especially in the absence of a robust legal framework.
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Meet the Legal Team Behind the Draft
This transformative law is being shaped by a team of legal minds that have expertise in Gender and human rights issues.
- Judge Nazik Al-Khatib – Appellate Public Defender, Mount Lebanon
- Ms. Layal Sakr – Lawyer and human rights activist
- Ms. Maysa Shandar – Women’s rights legal expert
- Ms. Asmaa Dagher Hamadeh – Chair, Women’s Committee at the Beirut Bar Association
- Ms. Maya Zagharini – Commissioner, Palace of Justice
- MP Halima Kaakour – Feminist lawmaker and advocate
- Judge Fatima Majed – Criminal judge in Beirut, specializing in juvenile cases
- Judge Hania El Helwe – Expert in digital law and international treaties
- Ms. Ghada Jumblatt – Lawyer and Former Executive member, National Commission for Lebanese Women
This is feminist legal action in motion rooted in justice, rights, and lived experience.
What Comes Next: Advocacy for Approval
With the first draft complete, FEMALE is preparing to launch a nationwide advocacy campaign to push for its adoption in Parliament.
We will mobilize public support, amplify survivor voices, and call on all sectors civil society, tech platforms, legal institutions, and parliamentarians to take a stand for a safer, more just digital future.
Join Us in Building a Feminist Digital Lebanon
We are calling on activists, allies, journalists, and legislators to support this draft law.
- Demand legal recognition of digital violence
- Advocate for justice and protection for all survivors
- Support the passing of this draft law in Lebanon
Because online violence is real violence.
Because every girl and woman deserves a safe screen.
Because digital spaces should be ours, too.
FEMALE is not just pushing for passing a draft law that ensures justice and protection for survivors. We are building a feminist future one line of code, one courtroom, one voice at a time.
