Gender-Based Violence in Lebanon: An Arts-Based Approach to Advocacy

The research paper's aim is to investigate arts-based advocacy as an effective bottom-up approach to dismantle gender-based violence (GBV) in Lebanon. Arts-based advocacy is a tool used to expose human rights violations, spark dialogue, and challenge the stereotypes that continue to oppress women in both public and private spaces. Utilizing a relational approach, arts-based advocacy leverages, and places value in lived experiences to bring forth progress towards gender equality. By sharing messaging in a manner that allows society to challenge their personal ways of knowing, arts-based advocacy is an impactful strategy implemented in Lebanon, considering cultural reform is what is needed for long-term, holistic approaches to gender equality. Gender equality is a human right and the importance of gender as being an integral pillar in sustainable development is well documented and as such is one of the 17 goals as per the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This paper examines the adoption of arts-based advocacy to achieve SDG five: Gender Equality, and its intersections with the other 16 goals; specifically SDG ten: Reduced Inequalities, SDG three: Good Health and Well-being, and SDG eight: Decent Work and Economic Growth. A qualitative approach is utilized to understand gender equality in Lebanon, multi-sectoral partnerships in addressing GBV, and the effectiveness advocacy campaigns have in reforming culture. Through 14 semi-structured interviews and analysis of scholarly and grey literature, this paper explores gender equality in Lebanon, as it intersects with GBV within governance, culture, society, and work, as factors that influence, guide, and alter gender sensitive programming and projects. The campaigns expose the repercussions and harm of GBV that is upheld through deeply embedded cultural norms, as well as extremely weak institutional capacity that continue to affect women disproportionately. I argue that achieving the goal of gender equality in Lebanon by 2030 to meet the SDGs, is met with many obstacles and barriers, the main being GBV, yet many successes to date have been achieved through an arts-based approach that is utilized to ignite reflection and dialogue.