Violence against women amidst the lebanese culture of impunity

Abstract

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is marked as a widespread and continuous human rights violation worldwide. Although several efforts and advancements have been made in combating, preventing and protecting women and girls from violence – both on the international and national level – VAWG remains a global problem. This thesis aims to test the applicability of the monist theory amidst an institutionalized culture of impunity through assessing the effectiveness of the Lebanese legal framework regarding gender-based violence against women and girls and its compliance with international standards. This thesis shall be divided into two main parts. The first shall provide an overview of the relationship between international law and national law through presenting both the monist and dualist theory while later determining the applicable theory to Lebanon. The second part shall test the thesis statement through an empirical and analytical approach. In this chapter, the Lebanese legal system will be examined and analyzed by evaluating two main systems of power: the legislative system and the judicial system. It will be determined to which extent the culture of impunity in Lebanon is one of the factors that hinder the effectiveness of the legal framework regarding VAWG and the applicability of monism in practice.