ABAAD MENA's video: Social experiment in Lebanon encourages women to speak up

Building on the success of the previous campaigns, and in a larger effort to address the issue of rape in Lebanon, ABAAD in 2018 led a nation-wide campaign entitled ‘’Shame on Who’’, calling for the prosecution of all rapists and promoting a public opinion that supports the victim instead of shaming her. The campaign was launched during the 16 Days of Activism against GBV with a social experiment video which captured the negative perception and attitudes of the society towards rape victims. The experiment, conducted in more than one area in Lebanon, shows that a large number of people are negligent and unaware of how to interact with a rape victim, choosing instead to accuse, blame and shame her. Hence the campaign slogan; Judge the Rapist. Not the Victim. The campaign had a broad reach, spanning across media with 3.7 billion impressions. As of this day, the campaign has accomplished one of its main objectives of encouraging women and girls survivors of rape and sexual assault to come forward, disclose their cases and seek support. Since the launch of the campaign on November 6 and until the end of December 2018, 205 women and girls called ABAAD helplines seeking support after having reported sexual assault cases. The campaign received national and international exposure and media coverage. --- About ABAAD: ABAAD– Resource Center for Gender Equality is a UN ECOSOC accredited organization that aims to achieve gender equality as an essential condition to sustainable social and economic development in the MENA region. The dynamic team is comprised of dedicated activists, lawyers, consultants, social workers and researchers, who creatively test new approaches as part of a larger effort to achieve an equitable society, free of hegemonic masculinities and violence against women. Follow ABAAD here: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ABAADMENA Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ABAADMENA Instagram: http://instagram.com/ABAADMENA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abaad---resource-center-for-gender-equality/