Sexual blackmail cases in Lebanon have increased by more than 300% over the past 2 years, security forces have revealed.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) said statistics have shown that sexual blackmail complaints that were recorded in Lebanon between 2019 and 2020 have increased “significantly and dangerously.”
According to the data, in 2019, the ISF received 200 sextortion complaints through social media and its website, whereas a whopping 815 were reported in 2020. This represents a 307.5% increase between the two years.
It’s important to note that in September 2020, the ISF had reported a 50% increase between late 2019 and early 2020.
Source: ISF
In response, security forces have been spreading awareness about, and urging caution against, sexual blackmail, through online campaigns and repeated cautionary statements.
In its new statement, the ISF reiterated its warning to citizens to refrain from taking “inappropriate” photos and videos of themselves under any circumstance and to avoid contact with strangers online.
It also urged victims not to yield to the demands of the blackmailers and to instead report them immediately.
Citizens can report sexual blackmail online to the ISF via its Facebook page, here, or via the dedicated webpage, here.
Otherwise, they can call the Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Bureau (01/293293) or resort to the judiciary and lodge a direct complaint to the competent judicial authorities.
