With all that’s going on in Lebanon, the country has become totally unsafe for everyone. While women have been at the forefront of all events, keeping those around them safe, they themselves never felt safe. In fact, studies show that 60% of women in Lebanon were sexually harassed in a public space. And with no law that criminalizes sexual harassment, this matter will never cease. Women’s rights NGO, Abaad, wanted to pressure lawmakers once and for all to pass the law that they have been working on for years.

#SafetyForSafekeepers (#?????_????)

If the women of Lebanon are today’s safekeepers, they deserve safety.

For that reason, we raised our demands with the voices of those safekeepers and demanded safety for the safe keepers.

Our audience was the Lebanese society: legislators, public figures, influencers and the public at large. In a country that was totally collapsing, women in Lebanon were at the frontline of events protecting those around them. YET, women were not safe and were still a target of sexual harassment. ABAAD wanted to push the topic of women’s safety to the forefront in a disruptive way, and push for a law that criminalizes sexual harassment. Our aim was to spark the debate at all levels, local, regional, & international. Locally, we identified key opinion leaders through monitoring and social media listening. We then collaborated with an influencer and content creator who became our spokespersons and helped us fuel the conversation which went global. To intensify our reach, we disseminated global media pitches propelling our content on a global scale, profiling our Lebanese safekeepers, and lobbying to enact the law.

We first told the story of 16 remarkable women, who protect their surroundings, yet never feel safe. We did it in an inspiring short film and an online photo exhibition by a famous female photographer. We then opened the debate on women’s safety and co-created a video with a provocative content creator, tackling the campaign idea in a bold way by depicting the patriarchy in a daring approach and requesting safety to all women. The video hijacked the entire conversation for a week, becoming viral in less than 48 hours, and opened the debate on harassment without taboos. Meanwhile, we triggered influencers to fuel the debate, which got picked up by local and international media. Our execution was resonating with women in Lebanon, and around the world, women who never felt safe and needed a law to protect them against sexual harassment.

IMPACT

- Activists shared their support online. Legislators joined the conversation.

- Local/Regional TV Coverage such as CNN International, BBC, France 24, Marie Claire.

- Inspired initiatives worldwide, such as the Egyptian movement launched on Twitter #SupportBisant.

- Online video was translated to French, Kurdish, Farsi, Turkish, Italian, & Swedish.

- Case reporting:

o More than 1000 women reached out with an increase of 250% from previous month.

o Over 60% of women reported to have been sexually harassed in public.

VIEWS & ENGAGEMENT

- 28 Million+ organic views

- 200K shares

- 262 Million + impressions

- $2 Million + earned media

- 13.3% Instagram engagement rate

- 96.3% increase in total followers for the influencer

JUDICIAL ACT

On Dec. 21st 2020, Lebanon criminalized sexual harassment for the first time. The sexual harassment law finally passed giving a smashing victory to the true Safekeepers of Lebanon.