Issued by Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls
Contribution of the National Human Rights Commission, including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture -Lebanese Republic
Scope and principal messages
The National Human Rights Commission, including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (NHRC-CPT), submits this contribution concerning girls under 18 in Lebanon. Preventing violence requires enforceable protection of bodily autonomy, accessible child-sensitive services, economic and educational support, and independent oversight. Child marriage, sexual abuse and technology-facilitated violence require particular attention, including during conflict and displacement.
Established by Law No. 62/2016, the Commission independently monitors human rights, reviews legislation and receives complaints. The Committee for the Prevention of Torture performs the national preventive mechanism mandate under OPCAT. [1]
This contribution is prepared pursuant to the mandate of the (NHRC-CPT) under Law No. 62/2016 to protect and promote human rights, monitor their observance, review legislation and policies, and cooperate independently with international human rights mechanisms. Available evidence does not establish comprehensive girl-specific prevalence, prosecution or conviction rates, or independently evaluated nationwide service coverage. No confidential case information is disclosed. The recommendations identify priorities for protection, further verification, and implementation within the Commission’s mandate.
1 Manifestations of violence and groups particularly affected
Child marriage is a central protection concern. NHRC-CPT links exposure to harmful coping practices with economic hardship, displacement, and disrupted schooling. Marriage before 18 can interrupt education and reduce autonomy and access to assistance. Prevention must support families while ensuring that girls already married retain access to education, healthcare, and justice without blame. Poverty or displacement does not determine an individual girl’s experience and should never justify stigmatizing a community. [2]
Sexual violence requires attention both within and outside the family. NHRC-CPT’s published opinion on proposed Penal Code amendments identifies shortcomings in approaches centered on force, threats, or public morality. Its recommendations include a definition based on the absence of free consent, express criminalization of marital rape, and removal of marriage-related impediments to accountability. These are recommendations on proposed legislation, not a statement that the reforms have been enacted. [3]
Domestic violence should be assessed beyond visible injuries. The Commission recommends screening for threats, coercive control, isolation, deprivation of education or healthcare, and neglect. Girls witnessing violence against caregivers also need protection and support. Monitoring should examine whether dependency on an abusive adult prevents a girl from seeking help. The reviewed materials do not provide longitudinal Lebanese evidence sufficient to quantify the relationship between childhood abuse and violence in adulthood.
Digital violence includes grooming, sexual extortion, harassment, stalking, non-consensual dissemination of intimate material, and synthetic sexual imagery. NCLW’s 2025 campaign specifically addressed technology-facilitated violence against women and girls. Its cited aggregate figures cannot be treated as prevalence estimates for girls under 18. [4]
NHRC-CPT’s digital-rights contribution addresses manipulative design, recommendation systems and AI-generated abuse, while explicitly noting the absence of evidence demonstrating effective implementation or measurable harm reduction. [5]
Conflict and displacement require protection planning that anticipates sexual exploitation, unsafe accommodation and disruption of referrals, schooling and healthcare. NHRC-CPT’s assessment of 122 collective shelters between 15 June and 31 July 2026 identified significant gaps in preventive safeguards: measures against sexual exploitation and abuse were implemented in only 35.8% of assessed shelters, specialized protection training had reached staff in 38.8%, and confidential complaints mechanisms were absent in 46.3%. These findings identify protection gaps rather than establish the prevalence of violence against girls. They underline the need for trained personnel, confidential reporting, and safe referral pathways. [6] Although medical referral pathways existed in 86.5% of assessed shelters, 41.8% of individuals identified as needing referrals did not receive the required service, demonstrating that formal availability must be matched by effective access to care. [7]
The Commission recommends specific assessment of girls with disabilities; refugee, migrant, stateless and undocumented girls; girls in rural or underserved areas; married and pregnant adolescents; girls deprived of liberty; and girls targeted because of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Assessment should consider intersecting barriers to protection without presuming that every girl within these groups experiences violence. In its legislative recommendations, the Commission emphasizes that disability must not automatically be equated with incapacity and calls for accessible communication and procedural accommodations. [8] Monitoring should also examine domestic servitude, exploitative work, forced begging and trafficking. The Commission’s published analysis of trafficking identifies continuing risks affecting children and migrants, alongside gaps in victim identification and protection. These materials do not permit ranking the listed groups by prevalence or assigning girl-specific rates to these forms of violence. [9]
Qualitative research on queer people displaced from South Lebanon identifies barriers to shelter and assistance linked to sexual orientation, gender identity and nationality, alongside concealment of identity as a means of avoiding discrimination. These findings provide contextual evidence of exclusion within displacement responses; they do not establish girl-specific prevalence or outcomes. Drawing on these concerns, the Commission recommends confidential, non-discriminatory protection pathways for girls facing actual or perceived identity-based targeting, without requiring disclosure of their sexual orientation or gender identity to obtain assistance. [10]
Schools, residential care, hospitals and places of detention require safeguards against abuse by staff, peers and others exercising authority. Where a setting constitutes deprivation of liberty within the national preventive mechanism’s mandate, CPT access and confidential interviews must be ensured. Law No. 62/2016 expressly encompasses juvenile institutions, hospitals and psychiatric facilities where people are or may be deprived of liberty, and provides for unannounced visits and private interviews. [11] Other institutions require appropriate safeguarding and oversight arrangements. The Commission recommends that prevention address retaliation, inaccessible complaints mechanisms and the misuse of disciplinary or protective measures.
Consequences to be assessed include injury, disrupted education, isolation, psychological distress, reproductive harm and risks of self-harm. These are proposed priorities for individual assessment and service planning, rather than quantified findings from the reviewed sources. The Commission’s published work on girls’ rights underscores the importance of continued education, appropriate healthcare and support for girls already married. [12] The materials reviewed for this contribution do not provide Lebanon-specific evidence sufficient to assess the prevalence or outcomes of medical interventions for gender-related distress among girls. No clinical conclusions are therefore advanced on that basis. The Commission recommends non-discriminatory care, protection from coercion and age-appropriate safeguards for informed decisions.
2 Data and evidence gaps
NCLW’s May 2026 announcement describes a national committee developing a platform on violence against women and girls, with a common form, collection of studies, technical meetings and analysis involving public institutions and civil society. This offers an opportunity for more coherent evidence. [13]
The Commission recommends a minimum dataset distinguishing children from adults and recording relevant age bands, form of violence, perpetrator relationship, location, disability and displacement where safe and necessary. Administrative records should distinguish reports, referrals, protection orders, investigations, prosecutions, judgments and remedies. Repeated contacts must not be counted as separate victims without explanation.
Service records measure recorded demand and institutional response; they do not measure population prevalence. Underreporting, incompatible definitions, interrupted services and insecure data sharing can distort interpretation. Survey findings should identify sampling, dates and limitations. Information about nationality, legal status or sexual orientation requires particular care to prevent identification, discrimination or retaliation.
The platform should publish anonymized indicators and methodology, with strict access controls, data minimization and retention rules. Identifiable case files should not be pooled automatically. Data sharing must have a lawful purpose and child-protection safeguards. Girls should receive understandable explanations of confidentiality and its limits. Research must avoid repeated traumatic interviews and include accessible, ethically designed participation.
Research and consultations should adopt a trauma-informed, survivor-centered approach that protects participants’ agency and psychosocial well-being. Methodological scholarship concerning displaced communities supports meaningful consent, attention to unequal power relations and participation that minimizes harm. Applied to girls, these principles require age-appropriate explanations, safe opportunities to decline or withdraw, appropriate safeguarding and referral arrangements, and avoidance of unnecessary repetition of traumatic accounts.[14]
3 Drivers of violence and barriers to protection and justice
NCLW’s National Strategy for Women in Lebanon 2022–2030 provides a policy framework addressing equality, participation, institutions and discriminatory social and legal conditions. Its implementation must translate into protection for girls as children, including those excluded from mainstream services. A strategy’s existence does not establish effective enforcement or adequate funding. [15]
The Commission’s assessment is that economic dependency, interrupted education, discriminatory expectations and unequal power can compound barriers to disclosure. A girl may fear retaliation, family separation, stigma or disbelief, particularly when the alleged perpetrator controls housing or income. The recommended response is confidential assistance, safe accommodation and independent advice, alongside support that reduces household pressure.
Research on displacement and return in South Lebanon describes how insecure accommodation, unequal access to assistance and uncertainty over housing and restitution can prolong displacement and reliance on informal support. These findings concern displaced communities more broadly. For girls, the Commission recommends assessing how such conditions affect access to education, healthcare, safe accommodation and protection, including when families face pressure to return before adequate living conditions and services are restored.[16]
Sexual-offense reform should ensure that silence, lack of physical resistance or absence of visible injury is not equated with consent. Child-sensitive interviews, accessible communication and protection against retaliation are essential. Investigators should assess coercion and abuse of authority while respecting fair-trial guarantees. The Commission’s legislative opinion specifically calls for trained interviewers and avoiding repeated statements that cause further harm. [17]
The Commission recommends free legal assistance from first disclosure, accessible transport and interpretation, urgent risk assessment and prompt protection decisions. Services should explain reporting duties and available options without promising absolute confidentiality. Assistance should not depend on a survivor securing a conviction. Where a guardian is implicated or has conflicting interests, an independent representative and a safe judicial pathway are necessary.
This review found no verified girl-specific prosecution or conviction rates. Relevant authorities should publish anonymized case progression, reasons for closure, duration, and enforcement of protection measures. Evidentiary practices should be reviewed for reliance on stereotypes, improper demands for corroboration, and failure to preserve digital or medical evidence. These are recommended audit questions, not findings that every listed practice occurs nationally.
4 Perpetrators and institutional responsibility
Protection systems should assess potential perpetrators across family, intimate, community, employment, educational, institutional, and online relationships. Risk assessment must consider dependency, access to the child, and control over resources or images. The reviewed sources do not establish a representative distribution of perpetrators of violence against girls in Lebanon.
The Commission recommends auditing whether institutions ignore disclosures, fail to enforce protection measures, permit unsafe contact, or penalize girls who report. Such audits should distinguish individual misconduct from systemic failure and identify responsibility for corrective action. Independent complaints, whistleblower protection, and investigation of alleged official involvement are necessary. Allegations must be verified; institutional complicity should not be presumed from evidence gaps alone.
5 Participation consent and informed decisions
Girls should be heard safely in decisions concerning protection, care, education, residence and justice, in accordance with their evolving capacities. The Commission recommends accessible explanations, private opportunities to speak, independent support where needed and feedback showing how their views affected decisions. Participation must be voluntary and must not require public disclosure of abuse.
Consent to healthcare, participation in research, information sharing and sexual activity involve different legal and ethical questions. They should not be treated as interchangeable. Safeguards must account for age, capacity, coercion and unequal power. Parental permission cannot legitimize abuse, and a marriage or promise of marriage must not extinguish accountability for sexual violence.
For healthcare, the Commission recommends age-appropriate information, respect for evolving capacities, competent clinical assessment and legally appropriate consent and assent procedures. Best-interests decisions must consider the girl’s views and allow review where disagreement or conflict arises. Disability must not automatically be equated with incapacity; communication support and procedural accommodations should enable participation.
National and local consultations should include girls from underserved groups, with safe recruitment, accessibility, and reimbursement of participation costs. Participation should also accommodate girls’ immediate needs, school schedules, care responsibilities, and safety constraints. Drawing on scholarship concerning participatory work with refugees in Lebanon, the Commission recommends flexible consultation arrangements that respect participants’ time and priorities, alongside feedback explaining how their contributions influenced decisions. The reviewed materials do not establish that girls’ direct participation is systematic or representative across existing mechanisms.
6 Good practices and priority recommendations
Several initiatives provide practical foundations. NCLW and the Ministry of Social Affairs developed temporary safe-shelter standards with UNFPA support and ABAAD assistance. The standards cover safeguarding, complaints, staffing, services, inclusion and information management. Their publication offers a benchmark for inspection and funding; it does not establish universal compliance or sufficient places for adolescent girls. [18]
In May 2026, the Ministry of Justice and NCLW, with the Council of Europe, launched a second edition of HELP training modules on trafficking and violence against women, girls and within the family. This is a promising capacity-building measure. Evaluation should examine changes in professional practice and survivors’ access to remedies, beyond participation numbers. [19]
6.1 Legislative initiatives and safeguards against digital violence
Girls must be protected from digital and online violence through clear laws, effective prevention, accountability and accessible remedies. Submitted to Parliament on 25 February 2026, the proposal on protecting women from digital violence seeks to address cyberstalking, online harassment, identity theft, electronic extortion and the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images. It also provides for protection orders, reporting mechanisms and legal, social and psychological assistance. Parliament should explicitly ensure that these protections cover girls under 18 and establish how they connect with child-protection procedures. Effective implementation will require funded services, trained personnel and timely responses to complaints. These measures remain proposed protections; their introduction does not establish that they are legally enforceable or available in practice.[20]
For this submission, the Commission recommends that any resulting legislation expressly address girls’ age-specific needs, evolving capacities and exposure to overlapping forms of discrimination. Reporting must be possible through understandable, accessible and confidential procedures, with clear explanations of confidentiality limits. Girls should receive immediate assistance without having to establish every element of a criminal offense before protection begins. Where a parent or guardian is implicated in abuse, or disclosure could expose the child to retaliation, independent support and an appropriate protection referral are essential. Responses should preserve relevant digital evidence while limiting further circulation of abusive material. They should also avoid blaming girls for using a platform, communicating online or seeking assistance. These are proposed implementation safeguards, rather than findings that the draft already contains each measure.
In its opinion on proposed amendments to Law No. 205/2020, the Commission identifies gaps in prevention, protection and support, including the inactive victim-support fund awaiting implementing regulations. It recommends complementary remedies and protection against retaliation. Addressing digital violence against girls also requires funded assistance, trained professionals and enforceable responsibilities, ensuring accessible advice, effective reporting and timely protection for affected children. [21]
In its opinion on the proposal to criminalize bullying, the Commission emphasizes prevention alongside punishment, recommending institutional policies, safe reporting, early intervention, staff training and protection against retaliation. Schools should support girls experiencing online abuse through confidential disclosure, protection referrals and continued education. Responses must distinguish serious offenses requiring investigation from situations warranting proportionate educational measures, while protecting children’s privacy. [22]
Protection must also address digital platforms’ responsibilities. In its August 2026 opinion on two proposals restricting minors’ social-media use, the Commission recommends against adopting either text in its existing form and instead supports regulation proportionate to specific services, functions and risks. Its concerns include insufficient privacy safeguards, broad restrictions and inadequate independent oversight. [23] These concerns matter for girls who use digital spaces to obtain information, maintain supportive relationships or seek confidential help. The Commission recommends enforceable platform duties, accessible complaints and review procedures, privacy-preserving age assurance and safeguards against discriminatory exclusion. Implementation should include meaningful consultation with girls and evaluation of whether remedies actually stop abuse and support recovery.
NHRC-CPT recommends that the Special Rapporteur encourage Lebanon and relevant partners to prioritize the following measures:
First, establish a minimum marriage age of 18 without exceptions that undermine protection, and support girls already married. Complete sexual-offense reform around free consent, child protection, and accountability within marriage. Harmonize relevant protection procedures through a transparent, participatory legislative process.
Second, finance an accessible referral system linking child protection, urgent healthcare, psychosocial support, shelters, legal aid, and education. Map actual capacity by region, age eligibility, and accessibility. Provide long-term recovery and safe follow-up, including for girls unable to return home. Family support should promote safety and non-violent care; reconciliation must never be imposed as a condition for assistance.
Third, integrate girls’ protection into displacement and recovery planning. Budget for safe accommodation, sanitation, transport, school continuity, and confidential reporting. Consult girls about practical safety concerns and monitor whether assistance reaches those facing administrative or physical barriers. Ensure that return or relocation decisions are voluntary, informed, safe, and dignified, and that girls retain access to protection, education, and healthcare throughout the process.
Fourth, require proportionate digital safeguards, effective reporting and removal procedures, evidence preservation, and accessible remedies. Assess platform risks, including AI-generated sexual abuse, while protecting privacy and access to information. Avoid responses that punish or exclude the child subjected to exploitation.
Fifth, strengthen independent oversight of care and custodial institutions, protect confidential contact with monitors, and prevent reprisals. Ensure CPT can perform its mandate with adequate resources and independence. Complaints and criminal referrals must follow the appropriate separate channels without compromising preventive work.
Sixth, fund the national strategy and coordination mechanisms through identifiable budget lines, trained personnel, and sustained support to specialized organizations. Publish annual indicators on access, response times, enforcement, recovery, and unmet need. Independently evaluate campaigns and training before describing them as effective. Prevention should combine school safeguarding, age-appropriate education about rights and consent, caregiver support, and practical measures that keep girls in education.
[1] Lebanon, Law Establishing the National Human Rights Institution, Including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Law 62, 2016, https://nhrclb.org/en/law62
[2] NHRC-CPT, “International Day of the Girl 2026: Lebanon Must Protect Girls’ Childhoods and Invest in Their Rights”, 10 October 2026, https://nhrclb.org/en/archives/8762
[3] NHRC-CPT, “Opinion on the Proposed Law Amending Certain Provisions of the Penal Code Concerning Offences against Public Morals and Decency”centered,, 7 September 2026, https://nhrclb.org/archives/8350 (in Arabic).
[4] NCLW, “Launch of the 2025 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign: Unite to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls” (translated title), 25 November 2025, https://nclw.gov.lb/8304/إطلاق–حملة–الستة–عشر–يوماً-من–النشاط–لم/ (in Arabic).
[5] NHRC-CPT, “Child Rights and Safety in the Digital Environment: Contribution to the OHCHR Consultation under Human Rights Council Resolution 56/6”, 7 October 2026, https://nhrclb.org/en/archives/8878
[6] National Human Rights Commission including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (NHRC-CPT), “NHRC organizes a specialized seminar on the rights of internally displaced persons and calls for the adoption of a national legal framework on internal displacement”, 12 August 2026, https://nhrclb.org/en/archives/8107
[7] NHRC-CPT, “‘Shelters: Rights and Humanity’ … Towards a sustainable response grounded in the rights of internally displaced persons”, 19 August 2026, https://nhrclb.org/en/archives/8180
[8] National Human Rights Commission including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (NHRC-CPT), “Opinion on the proposed law amending certain provisions of the Penal Code concerning offences against public morals and decency” (in Arabic), 7 September 2026, https://nhrclb.org/archives/8350ensure CPT access and confidential interviews, sections 5–6.
[9] NHRC-CPT, “Lebanon in the 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report: Progress in combating trafficking, persistent gaps in victim protection”, 19 October 2026, https://nhrclb.org/en/archives/9081
[10] Jasmin Lilian Diab, “Missiles and misfits: Reimagining home and security for queer internally displaced persons from South Lebanon”, Journal on Migration and Human Security, Volume 12, Issue 4, 18 November 2024, https://doi.org/10.1177/23315024241282609, pp. 350–368.
[11] Lebanon, Law No. 62/2016 establishing the National Human Rights Commission including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, 27 October 2016, https://nhrclb.org/archives/2499, Articles 22–23.
[12] NHRC-CPT, “International Day of the Girl 2026: Lebanon must protect girls’ childhood and invest in their rights” (in Arabic), 10 October 2026,https://nhrclb.org/en/archives/8762
[13] NCLW, “First Meeting of the National Committee for the National Platform on Violence against Women and Girls in Lebanon”, 19 May 2026, https://nclw.gov.lb/8499/الاجتماع–الأول–للّجنة–الوطنية–للمنصة/ (in Arabic).
[14] Jasmin Lilian Diab, “Trauma-informed participatory research in displacement studies: Ethical and methodological considerations from Lebanon and beyond”, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Volume 24, 12 June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069251351429; Jasmin Lilian Diab and Dana Al-Azzeh, “Inclusive inquiry: A compassionate journey in trauma-informed qualitative research with GBV survivors from displaced communities”, Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 15, 25 July 2024, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1399115
[15] NCLW, National Strategy for Women in Lebanon (2022–2030): National Action Plan (2024–2026), 2024, https://nclw.gov.lb/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/National-Strategy-for-Women-in-Lebanon_National-Action-Plan-2024-2026_Eng.pdf
[16] Jasmin Lilian Diab, “Forced evacuations and the politics of return in South Lebanon: Legal and identity implications”, Journal on Migration and Human Security, Volume 13, Issue 4, 12 August 2025, https://doi.org/10.1177/23315024251355670, pp. 409–422; Jasmin Lilian Diab, “Displaced in a land of denial: Who is an IDP in Lebanon’s reluctant war?”, Migration and Development, Volume 14, Issue 1, 7 January 2025, https://doi.org/10.1177/21632324241309429, pp. 28–42.
[17] NHRC-CPT, “Opinion on Proposed Amendments Concerning Sexual Offences” (previously cited).
[18] NCLW and Ministry of Social Affairs, Standards of Temporary Safe Shelters for the Protection of Women and Girls Survivors of Violence, 2023, https://nclw.gov.lb/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NCLW-I-MOSA-I-UNFPA-I-ABAAD-I-SOPs-I-English.pdf
[19] NCLW, “Launch of the Second Edition of Training Modules on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Violence against Women and Girls and Domestic Violence, Organized with the Ministry of Justice and the Council of Europe (HELP)” (translated title), 12 May 2026, https://nclw.gov.lb/8509/إطلاق–النسخة–الثانية–من–الوحدات–الدرا/ (in Arabic).
[20] National Human Rights Commission including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (NHRC-CPT), Protecting Children in the Digital Environment: Social Media Restrictions, Platform Accountability, and Human Rights Implications for Lebanon, 12 May 2026, https://nhrclb.org/en/archives/6956, section 9.7.
[21] NHRC-CPT, “Opinion on the proposed amendment to the law criminalizing sexual harassment and rehabilitating its victims” (in Arabic), 16 November 2025, https://nhrclb.org/archives/5028
[22] NHRC-CPT, “Opinion on the proposed law criminalizing bullying” (in Arabic), 16 October 2025, https://nhrclb.org/archives/5038
[23] NHRC-CPT, “Opinion on the two proposed laws concerning the protection of minors from the use of social media networks” (in Arabic), 25 August 2026, https://nhrclb.org/archives/8227
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