During the Monday legislative session, the Lebanese Parliament passed a modified law that further protects women and household members from domestic abuse.
The legislation was passed despite MP Ibrahim Mousawi’s request to have it referred to the parliamentary joint committees.
Mousawi, who represents Hezbollah in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, was quoted by local media as saying that the modified law “gets into family issues that are governed by religious courts,” noting that some of its terms may be subject to appeal by religious figures.
Lebanon has seen a significant increase in domestic violence cases since the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak started earlier this year.
According to figures released by the Internal Security Forces, calls to its hotline related to domestic and gender-based violence have risen by more than 50% since March.
Several weeks ago, Human Rights Watch stated that Lebanese officials had failed to secure and guarantee the protection of women in the country against violence and discrimination.
