On April 27, 2016, IWSAW organized its Food 4 Thought session about “Human Trafficking and Prostitution in Lebanon”. The informal discussion brought together students, faculty, staff as well as activists from different NGOS to discuss human trafficking, prostitution, and sexual exploitation of women and girls in Lebanon.

This issue has recently received much attention in Lebanon owing to the horrific stories that were highlighted in the news after the arrest of one of the largest trafficking rings in Lebanon and freeing around 75 girls, mostly Syrians, that were tortured and held as sex slaves. 

Our guest speaker, Ghada Jabbour, an activist and head of the exploitation and anti-trafficking in women unit at KAFA, defined human trafficking, and explained to the audience how it leads to sexual exploitation. She also highlighted the results of a recent study conducted by KAFA entitled “exploring the demand for prostitution: what male buyers say about their motives, practices and perceptions”. Jabbour also discussed the current draft law KAFA is working on where prostituted women and girls are to be considered victims of a violent act and the buyers as well as the traffickers are the criminals who should be convicted.

More details about the Food 4 Thought session are found in this LAU News article.