On Friday March 22, 2013, the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) organized a seminar entitled “Suffering Children in Lebanon”. The Dean of the Faculty, Dr. Hoda Nehme, inaugurated the event and stated that “Social issues, especially those related to suffering and neglected children, in Lebanon affect the youth” adding that it is necessary to raise awareness on the maltreatment of children in Lebanon, and in the world, to awaken the conscience and faith of people. She stated: “It is necessary to change our way of thinking and to develop new lifestyles; thus, we should fight corruption which is exacerbating the problem of suffering children. An abused child is not only the result of a bad family education, but also the result of wars, displacement, disasters, poverty, crises, and the fear of tomorrow.”

The first session, moderated by Dr. Nadine Zalaket, Dr. Christiane Saliba Sfeir from the Lebanese University tackled the subject of psychological and social analysis on abused childhood in Lebanon. She indicated that violence against children is only briefly mentioned in the article 422 of the Lebanese Law. She also talked about “The forms of physical, psychological and sexual violence against children that makes us dig for the reasons behind this phenomenon facilitating and promoting this situation in Lebanon.”

Dr. Rolla Lebbos, from the Union for the Protection of Juveniles in Lebanon, gave a detailed presentation on legislation related to the protection of children in Lebanon. She also talked about the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, indicating that Lebanon ratified this Convention in 1990, which obliges the country to abide by all its recommendations and provisions.

In the second session, moderated by Dr. Magdalena El Khazen, the associations Dar El Amal, Beitouna, the Union for the Protection of Juveniles in Lebanon, and Save the Children presented their testimonies. Recommendations were offered at the end.