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

Document Cited authorities 3 Cited in Related
AuthorMay Abi Samra
The“ChezMaurice”Case:Mediaand
NGOs’LegalDebateson“Prostitution”and
SexTraffickinginLebanon
MayAbiSamra*
Theapprehensionofthelargestsextrafficking
ringinMarch2016sentshockwavesthrough
Lebanesesociety,leadingtoapublicdebatein
media,aswellaswithincivilsociety
institutionsabout“prostitution”andsex
trafficking.Theincidentbecameknownasthe
‘ChezMaurice’case,whichexposedtheplight
of75SyrianandIraqiwomen,whowereheld
captive,coercedintosexslavery,andtortured.
ThisArticlepresentsanoverviewofthe
Lebanese‘prostitution’andhumantrafficking
laws,fromtheOttomanEmpireruleuntilthe
presentday.Subsequently,itanalysesthe
legaldebatesinLebanesemediaoutlets
followingthe‘ChezMaurice’case.Indoingso,
theArticledrawsthetwosectionstogether,
arguingthattheNGOs’debatereproducesthe
divisiveinternationaloneregardingsex
traffickingand‘prostitution’;whileit
overlooksthe‘Artiste’visascheme,which
functionsasastate‐facilitatedsextrafficking
system,aswellasthepersistenttargetingof
18SLJ5(1)
vulnerableLebaneseandSyrianrefugeesby
“prostitution”andnewtraffickinglaws.
Introduction
OutrageeruptedinMarch2016,followingthediscoveryof
thelargesthumansextraffickingnetworkoperatingin
Lebanon:75SyrianandIraqiwomenwereforcedintosexual
slaveryandtortured,someformorethanfiveyears.1TV
stations,onlineandprintmediapublishedwomen’s
testimonies,portrayingthelevelofinhumantreatmentthey
weresubjectedto:beingforcedtohavesexabouttentimesa
day,afterbeingsoldintothesextradebytheirfamiliesor
husbands,orheldcaptiveafteracceptinganoffertoworkat
arestaurant.2Theyweretorturedwhenevertheyrefusedto
‘work’,didnotcollectenoughtips,orwhenacustomerwas
notsatisfied.Approximately200abortionswereperformed
*MayAbiSamraiscurrentlycontinuingresearchonsex
traffickingandsexworkinLebanononaprojectfundedbyRosa
LuxemburgStiftung(BeirutOffice).SheholdsaMaster’sdegree
inHumanRightsLawfromSOAS,andaMaster’sinGenderand
WomenStudiesfromtheAmericanUniversityofCairo.
1KareemShaheen,‘DozensofSyriansForcedintoSexual
SlaveryinDerelictLebaneseHouse’TheGuardian(London,30
April2016).
world/2016/apr/30/syrians‐
forced‐sexual‐slavery‐lebanon>accessed20May2017.
2RaniaHamzeh,‘WomenTraffickinginLebanon:TheTorture
ChambersofChezMaurice’(TheLegalAgenda,14April2016)
‐agenda.com/en/article.php?id=3137>accessed21
May2017.
The“ChezMaurice”Case19
onthemoveraperiodoffouryearsbythegynaecologist
RiadBoulos.3
TheexposureoftheringinMarch2016,afterfourofthe
traffickedwomenmanagedtoescape,ledtotwopoliceraids
ofthe‘ChezMaurice’and‘SilverB’hotels,andapartments
andcabinsownedbytraffickingringsuspects,wherethe
womenwereimprisoned.4Bothofthehotelswerelocated
20kmnorthofthecapitalandownedbyMauriceGeagea.5
ManySyrianwomenweretraffickedintoLebanonfollowing
thewarinSyria,whilenumerousinternationalorganisations
reportedanincreaseinthevulnerabilitiesofSyrianwomen
andgirlsbothinSyriaandLebanon6.SyrianandLebanese
3Shaheen(n1).
4Hamzeh(n2).
5RemyDerbas,‘HumanTrafficking...75GirlsForcedinto
ProstitutionStopped’,LBCI(31March2016).
accessed21
May2017.
6FedericaMarsiandPreethiNallu,‘HarshStreetsPushFemale
RefugeestowardEU’(RefugeesDeeply,16May2016).
ugees/articles/2016/05/16/hars
h‐streets‐push‐female‐refugees‐toward‐e‐u>accessed28May
2017.
SaadaAllaw,‘SyrianWomenRefugeesFacingExploitationand
Harassment’[2014]Al‐RaidaJournal43.
HumanRightsWatch,‘Lebanon:SyrianWomenatRiskofSex
Trafficking’(HumanRightsWatch,28July2016).
ws/2016/07/28/lebanon‐syrian‐women‐
risk‐sex‐trafficking>accessed20May2017.
UNICEF,‘GenderBasedViolence:MainFormsofViolence’
(UNICEF).
anon/emergency_8401.html>
accessed17June2017.
UNFPA,‘WomenandGirlsintheSyriaCrisis:UNFPA
Response’(UNFPA2015).

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