In Lebanon, a Ceasefire Brings Little Relief for Women Facing Domestic Violence

When Sara, 30, speaks to you, she fixes you with an unwavering gaze. She’s friendly from the start, eager to put into words the stories she has bottled up for so long. 

Sara was at the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (RDFL) center close to her home in the southern Lebanese city of Saida, where she was seeking help after her marriage unraveled under the strain of war. Though the fiercest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah raged further south, Israeli airstrikes regularly shook her city. Inside her home, her husband’s verbal abuse compounded her fear and despair, leaving her feeling trapped.

“Sometimes, I would stand by the window and think about hurting myself,” she told More to Her Story.

Sara looks out of a window (18 February 2025, RDFL center in Saida)

The 15-month Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which began following Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has had devastating consequences for many in Lebanon, especially in the country’s south and the capital, Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahye.

As of November 2024, more than 3,800 in Lebanon are recorded to have been killed, over 15,000 wounded, and approximately 1.2 million internally displaced. A Human Rights Watch report from March revealed that nearly 800 women were killed in Lebanon between October 2023 and January 2025.

By November 2024, Hezbollah and Israel secured a fragile ceasefire deal, which has since been repeatedly tested by escalating hostilities. As Israel resumes heavy strikes in the Gaza Strip, intensified Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon have killed five Hezbollah members. 

But perhaps none have felt more of the compounding effects of this conflict from Lebanon’s position than women, who advocates warn have been experiencing the duo tragedies of war and displacement, as well as gender-based violence. According to a UNFPA report from September 2024, 56,000 Lebanese women and girls of reproductive age, along with over 2,000 pregnant women, had been displaced.

These pressures are felt not just in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes but also within homes where frustration and economic strain often escalate tensions. A 2023 UN report revealed that 43 percent of women and 30 percent of men in Lebanon had witnessed or knew a woman who had experienced some form of domestic violence.

Sara knows this reality all too well. During the war, her husband’s work was suspended, leaving him home for longer periods — something he “was not used to,” she told More to Her Story. Sara’s husband often directed his anger at her and their three daughters. According to her case worker, Khadija Farhat—whom Sara affectionately calls “family”—he frequently lashed out at the children during his outbursts.

The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (RDFL), where Khadija works, saw a surge in calls at the onset of hostilities in 2023. According to RDFL’s Protection and gender-based violence manager, Rania Maylaa, the organization’s 24/7 hotline now receives about 10 high-risk protection calls per week — cases where it’s unsafe for a woman to remain in her home — compared to just three calls a week before the war.

“In those situations, we have to provide shelter and secure a protection decision from a court,” Maylaa said, highlighting the urgency of these cases.

She adds that many of the caseworkers in RDFL’s centers were displaced and had to conduct case management remotely. 

“[Some of the case workers] were sharing houses, maybe even with 20 people. Sometimes, they would go to the bathroom to make calls or to the garden,” she says. “They had many challenges.” 

Hiba Chreidi, a senior case worker at Imam Sadr Foundation’s gender-based violence project in Tyre, a hotspot of fighting, says that since the start of the war, she has noticed a significant rise in the calls she was receiving for protection or guidance. 

“Before the war, I’d get maybe five new calls a month. Now, I get about seven a week,” she said. 

Hiba Chreidi at the Imam Sadr Foundation in Tyre, South Lebanon (4 February 2025)

And those are just cases that come to Chreidi. The GBV project works with two case workers, and Layan Charefeddine, the project manager, is urgently looking for a third to cope with the rising need. 

One of the women Chreidi worked with was Leila, 31, from Tyre, who was displaced during the war. Battling on multiple fronts — having to leave her home and deal with a violent husband, she reached out to the Imam Sadr Foundation in Tyre to seek help. Chreidi explains how massive displacement among the population meant that many families were often under one roof, which was a significant factor leading to a spike in tensions between members. 

“More than one person becomes a decision-maker, and the woman is not heard,” Chreidi explained. “Before, [Leila] was controlled by her husband; now, it’s the husband and others in the house.” 

A mosque outside the Imam Sadr Foundation compound

Organizations like the Imam Sadr Foundation and RDFL tailor their assistance to the needs and requests of the women, taking into account the cultural and sociopolitical context in which they are working. Ghada El-Zein, Director of Health and Social Services at the Imam Sadr Foundation, explained how there is sometimes an “arrogant” imposition on the woman of what the society believes is best for her in the name of empowerment.

“She is a human being. We should give her many opportunities to choose what to be,” she said.  

Sara’s hands (18 February 2025, RDFL center in Saida)

In Sara’s case, she was able to speak to a psychologist and find ways to deal with negative or suicidal thoughts. Combining coping mechanisms, such as listening to music, journaling, going on walks, and learning new communication techniques, she says the situation in her home has improved significantly. 

“We’d talk when the kids were asleep. I’d try to figure out why he acted the way he did. Slowly, we reached a point where he would understand where I was coming from,” she explained. 

“In the past, he would verbally abuse me in front of the kids. He would never lay a hand on me, but I would be really hurt.”

Jessica Anania, a fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and leader of the institute’s conflict tracking initiative, explained how the secondary effects of conflict, such as scarcity or displacement, often pair with gender-based violence.

“With crises around displacement, for instance, women often face violence in refugee or displacement camps,” she said. “All of the protections that could help women and girls if they need to leave a situation of violence or seek resources are often either overstretched or just inaccessible during the war.” 

With the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, thousands of displaced people have been able to return to their homes. Maylaa of RDFL, however, says that sometimes people become more aware of their losses after returning to lives that barely resemble the ones once lived. The tension and stress that come with that realization often exacerbate risks for women. 

Anania said that although women are often disproportionately burdened by conflict, they are “vital agents of change at all levels.” 

“We see women and girls engaged in peace-building efforts at all levels: grassroots levels, community building, nonviolent conflict resolution,” she said. “Women are disproportionately suffering this violence, but are also really key actors in working to build a more peaceful and stable future.”