The 'Chez Maurice Case': Media and NGOs' Legal Debates on Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in Lebanon

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Author	May Abi Samra

The“ChezMaurice”Case:Mediaand

NGOs’LegalDebateson“Prostitution”and

SexTraffickinginLebanon



MayAbiSamra*



Theapprehensionofthelargestsextrafficking

ringinMarch2016sentshockwavesthrough

Lebanesesociety,leadingtoapublicdebatein

media,aswellaswithincivilsociety

institutionsabout“prostitution”andsex

trafficking.Theincidentbecameknownasthe

‘ChezMaurice’case,whichexposedtheplight

of75SyrianandIraqiwomen,whowereheld

captive,coercedintosexslavery,andtortured.

ThisArticlepresentsanoverviewofthe

Lebanese‘prostitution’andhumantrafficking

laws,fromtheOttomanEmpireruleuntilthe

presentday.Subsequently,itanalysesthe

legaldebatesinLebanesemediaoutlets

followingthe‘ChezMaurice’case.Indoingso,

theArticledrawsthetwosectionstogether,

arguingthattheNGOs’debatereproducesthe

divisiveinternationaloneregardingsex

traffickingand‘prostitution’;whileit

overlooksthe‘Artiste’visascheme,which

functionsasastate‐facilitatedsextrafficking

system,aswellasthepersistenttargetingof

18SLJ5(1)



vulnerableLebaneseandSyrianrefugeesby

“prostitution”andnewtraffickinglaws.



Introduction

OutrageeruptedinMarch2016,followingthediscoveryof

thelargesthumansextraffickingnetworkoperatingin

Lebanon:75SyrianandIraqiwomenwereforcedintosexual

slaveryandtortured,someformorethanfiveyears.1TV

stations,onlineandprintmediapublishedwomen’s

testimonies,portrayingthelevelofinhumantreatmentthey

weresubjectedto:beingforcedtohavesexabouttentimesa

day,afterbeingsoldintothesextradebytheirfamiliesor

husbands,orheldcaptiveafteracceptinganoffertoworkat

arestaurant.2Theyweretorturedwhenevertheyrefusedto

‘work’,didnotcollectenoughtips,orwhenacustomerwas

notsatisfied.Approximately200abortionswereperformed

*MayAbiSamraiscurrentlycontinuingresearchonsex

traffickingandsexworkinLebanononaprojectfundedbyRosa

LuxemburgStiftung(BeirutOffice).SheholdsaMaster’sdegree

inHumanRightsLawfromSOAS,andaMaster’sinGenderand

WomenStudiesfromtheAmericanUniversityofCairo.

1KareemShaheen,‘DozensofSyriansForcedintoSexual

SlaveryinDerelictLebaneseHouse’TheGuardian(London,30

April2016).

world/2016/apr/30/syrians‐

forced‐sexual‐slavery‐lebanon>accessed20May2017.

2RaniaHamzeh,‘WomenTraffickinginLebanon:TheTorture

ChambersofChezMaurice’(TheLegalAgenda,14April2016)

‐agenda.com/en/article.php?id=3137>accessed21

May2017.

The“ChezMaurice”Case19



onthemoveraperiodoffouryearsbythegynaecologist

RiadBoulos.3

TheexposureoftheringinMarch2016,afterfourofthe

traffickedwomenmanagedtoescape,ledtotwopoliceraids

ofthe‘ChezMaurice’and‘SilverB’hotels,andapartments

andcabinsownedbytraffickingringsuspects,wherethe

womenwereimprisoned.4Bothofthehotelswerelocated

20kmnorthofthecapitalandownedbyMauriceGeagea.5

ManySyrianwomenweretraffickedintoLebanonfollowing

thewarinSyria,whilenumerousinternationalorganisations

reportedanincreaseinthevulnerabilitiesofSyrianwomen

andgirlsbothinSyriaandLebanon6.SyrianandLebanese

3Shaheen(n1).

4Hamzeh(n2).

5RemyDerbas,‘HumanTrafficking...75GirlsForcedinto

ProstitutionStopped’,LBCI(31March2016).

accessed21

May2017.

6FedericaMarsiandPreethiNallu,‘HarshStreetsPushFemale

RefugeestowardEU’(RefugeesDeeply,16May2016).

ugees/articles/2016/05/16/hars

h‐streets‐push‐female‐refugees‐toward‐e‐u>accessed28May

2017.

SaadaAllaw,‘SyrianWomenRefugeesFacingExploitationand

Harassment’[2014]Al‐RaidaJournal43.

HumanRightsWatch,‘Lebanon:SyrianWomenatRiskofSex

Trafficking’(HumanRightsWatch,28July2016).

ws/2016/07/28/lebanon‐syrian‐women‐

risk‐sex‐trafficking>accessed20May2017.

UNICEF,‘GenderBasedViolence:MainFormsofViolence’

(UNICEF).

anon/emergency_8401.html>

accessed17June2017.

UNFPA,‘WomenandGirlsintheSyriaCrisis:UNFPA

Response’(UNFPA2015).

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The 'Chez Maurice Case': Media and NGOs' Legal Debates on Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in Lebanon

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