From the financial fine to imprisonment … Lebanon is on the threshold of a law to criminalize bullying

Blessing, a short word in its letters, but it is heavy with its wounds and effects. It is not just a transient behavior, but a scar that remains stuck in the depths of everyone who tests it. Some people may think that they have passed or skipped the experience, but its fragments remain hidden in the corners of the soul, which appear in moments and behaviors, as a faint voice reminding what was. Most of us, in one way or another, tasted the taste of bullying: physically, verbally, or even through hurtful behaviors that cast their weight on the heart and cause anger.
In Lebanon, the country that was classified among the most miserable globally, is still a complete absence of any law that protects citizens from this phenomenon, despite the fact that the latest statistics revealed that more than 50% of children in Lebanon were exposed to bullying at some point in their lives, whether verbal or physical.
Psychologically, the bullying generates a permanent feeling of inferiority and loss of self -confidence, and sows fear, anxiety and depression that in some cases may reach suicide, as well as sleep disturbances and the accompanying kindness and nightmares. On the social level, the victim leads to isolation and introverted, so he moves away from his friends and activities, and finds it difficult later in building healthy relationships, as well He loses the incentive to participate in society or follow up on his studies and work.
As for my physical, psychological pressure is reflected in repeated pain in the head or stomach, and in the decline in concentration and academic or practical performance, in addition to disturbances in appetite that may appear in the form of loss of desire to eat or excessively.
In front of this reality, Representative Hakoub Trezian decided to break the silence, and submitted a proposal of a law that criminalizes bullying, after consultations with social, educational and human rights activities, putting the issue at the Legislative Discussion table that it turns into real protection for the vulnerable. Legislative Decree No. 340 includes most deterrent materials, but it does not explicitly address the issue of bullying, hence his proposal to add a clear amendment. He considered that bullying, whether verbally or physically, is a hostile behavior that requires deterrent penalties, indicating that the proposal will first be presented to the competent parliamentary committees and then to the joint committees before arriving at the General Assembly of the House of Representatives where it may be subject to amendment before Acknowledgment. Details of the Law proposal
Tarzian stressed that the aim of the law is not to be satisfied with opening the way for individual complaints, but rather to protect public publicity and set clear criteria for judges to determine whether the actions committed are included in bullying, especially in cases that are practiced and systematically and leaving a profound psychological impact on the victim, which differs from being a “passing joke.” He explained that this law, if approved, will affect many forms of bullying, including the exploitation of an unbalanced relationship, as the perpetrator benefits from material, authoritarian or social superiority to insulting the victim or isolating it, through psychological, moral and social harm that is considered the most dangerous to the difficulty of proving it by traditional means, to the e -bulletin that exacerbated with the spread of social media through images and frequently frequent comments and comments Published on public in the absence of deterrent legal tools. Penalty for bullying
As for the penalties, the proposal of the law provides for the imprisonment of the bullying from 5 months to two years, or a fine of between 3 and 10 times the minimum wage (which is currently, 28 million Lebanese pounds is equivalent to 312 dollars), or combining the two penalties. Defending himself because of his physical or psychological situation, or if a woman was exposed to bullying against the background of her gender, as well as if the perpetrator possesses a material, moral or educational authority over the victim, or if the bullying leads to her interruption from education or work or her social life, or when the act is committed from more than one person or by using electronic means that the victim is exposed to public insult. On the pretext that there are more urgent issues in the country, Trezian affirmed that this does not prevent the proceeding of the law in parallel with other basic files. He also called for accompanying the law with comprehensive awareness campaigns in schools and universities, holding the educational staff responsible for facing this phenomenon within educational institutions. Its repercussions. Will it be his approval in the near future?