News circulated on social media in Lebanon that a British journalist was the victim of an attempted rape while jogging in the Biel area of Beirut. The Lebanese security forces have now announced the arrest of the suspect in the assault. According to the victim’s friends, she was severely traumatized and had to be taken to the hospital. The Women’s Progressive Union has noted that the incident is a wake-up call for all women in Lebanon. The Beirut Marathon Association has condemned the incident and directed books to various officials, including the Minister of Interior and Municipalities, calling for measures to ensure the safety of citizens who frequent the area. Representative Fouad Makhzoumi and MP Pierre Bou Assi both called for immediate action to prevent such incidents from happening again and to ensure the safety of women in Lebanon.
After social networking sites in Lebanon were abuzz with news that a British journalist had been subjected to an attempted rape in the Biel area of the Lebanese capital while she was jogging, the Lebanese security forces announced the arrest of the suspect in the assault.
A number of the victim’s friends revealed what she was exposed to through social media, noting that she was traumatized as a result of an attempt to rape her at around nine o’clock in the evening last Wednesday, which necessitated her transfer to the hospital.
And Sunday, the Internal Security Forces indicated, through its Twitter account, that the Information Division arrested at record speed the “suspect of assault and attempted rape of a British journalist in the waterfront area in Beirut near KIDS MONDO, which took place on 3/29/2023, and the investigation is underway under the supervision of the judiciary.” specialist.
What happened, according to the Women’s Progressive Union, “is a wake-up call for all women and girls in Lebanon, not only in Biel, but in all Lebanese streets, alleys, shops, and neighborhoods, where there are no lights, no security personnel, no officially classified safe places for practicing sports hobbies, and no surveillance cameras!”
After the incident, the administrative board of the “Beirut Marathon” Association held a meeting chaired by May Al-Khalil and attended by the members, during which it stopped at the “cowardly assault incident”, expressing its condemnation and condemnation “in the harshest terms of this incident in the face of those behind it and the need to demand the imposition of the most severe penalties against the perpetrators without deterrence from Human morals and values.
The association revealed that it directed “books to each of the Minister of Interior and Municipalities, the Governor of Beirut, the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces, and the Solidere Company, to give the necessary directions and take the measures that guarantee and guarantee the provision of climates of safety and personal safety for all those who frequent the aforementioned area, including male and female runners, and every male and female citizen who practices walking.” Especially since this area is an extension along the sea line of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Avenue and the Ain Al-Mreisseh area. It is the only outlet for all Lebanese eager to relieve psychological pressures and social, economic and living challenges.
The association called for “securing night lighting, carrying out security patrols and guarding by the Beirut City Guard, and setting up surveillance cameras to provide the lowest elements of security and safety for those who frequent this area, and asking runners, male and female runners and coaches, especially those involved in the training programs organized by the Beirut Marathon Association, to take the utmost measures Caution and caution, in order to avoid facing any difficult circumstances and events affecting their personal safety, and not to engage in jogging individually, especially at night when darkness prevails.
And she pointed out that she “will give this unfortunate incident the care and attention it deserves, by following up to achieve public safety measures with the competent authorities,” stressing “the importance of being cautious and adhering to the general directives and instructions issued successively by the security authorities.”
For his part, Representative Fouad Makhzoumi considered, in a tweet on Twitter, that silence about what happened is unacceptable, and called on the security forces and the Beirut municipality to take the necessary and immediate measures to prevent the recurrence of such practices and work to provide security and safety for all, calling on “people also to exercise extreme caution, especially when Evening”.
MP Pierre Bou Assi stressed, through two tweets, that “the physical and moral safety of the Lebanese woman is at the top of the priorities, and it is required to intensify the investigation to uncover the perpetrator of the attempted rape in the Biel complex, in preparation for imposing the most severe penalties on him.” He appealed to “women who are subjected to harassment or attempted rape to go to Immediately to the security forces to punish the perpetrator.
He added, “Many women feel fear and hesitation, and sometimes even a complex of guilt, while they are privileged victims, and achieving justice is our sacred duty. Therefore, I turn to the Lebanese society to lift the injustice against women and stand by them so that our society does not become a hotbed of injustice and recklessness.”
The quick arrest of the suspect in the attempted rape case of a British journalist in Beirut is a positive step towards ensuring justice for the victim. However, this incident highlights the urgent need for increased safety measures and resources for women and girls in Lebanon. It is unacceptable that anyone should feel unsafe in their own community, and it is the responsibility of the authorities to take action to prevent such incidents from happening again. We must all work towards creating a safer and more inclusive society, where everyone can feel secure and free from harm.