Global Issue 2019
Written by: Natasha Mouawad, American University of Beirut
Introduction
Jurisprudence represents a constant and sincere attempt to provide a guiding utopian vision of human existence. Despite this purported idealism, jurisprudence has been defined by a masculinist vision. Women are often not aware of the existential choice this poses because they have been blinded by male power. Feminist jurisprudence aims at breaking down conceptual and political barriers to women’s freedom posed by this masculine and patriarchal jurisprudence. It aims at building a perfect legal system that will protect against harms as understood by all forms of life and will recognize values generated by all forms of being.
Having a masculinist jurisprudence means having laws written and understood by male standards, which poses an existential threat to women: the laws that govern every little detail in a woman’s life are male. These laws do not account for the experiences of women, often letting them down when the differences between the male and the female experience are the most at odds. This clash is best illustrated in cases of sexual violence. Often, the perpetrator is male, and the victim is female but the law that tries to understand this phenomenon is only male. Thus, when it comes to studying the case, the law understands only the perpetrator’s experience and not the victim’s experience. This provides some explanation as to why the numbers of reported cases of sexual assault and unreported cases are outrageously disproportionate: women don’t feel comfortable reporting their cases because they know that the law does not understand their subjective experiences as women.
In Lebanon, this masculinist utopian vision rests in the honor discourse: it has built an intricate honor/shame system that revolves around sex and the men’s honor. Despite having its own characteristics, this Lebanese masculinist jurisprudence still poses an existential threat to women. Using a radical feminist lens, I will show how this male perspective in the Lebanese Penal Codes dealing with sexual violence oppresses women.
Radical Feminism
- The Male Point of View
Catharine A. Mackinnon, an American professor of law and feminist theory, writes “the male point of view forces itself upon the world as its way of apprehending it.” [1] What she means is that the male understanding, a hegemonic and systematic framework, shapes all forms of interaction and non-interaction that impact all aspects of societal life. In other words, the male point of view shapes existence itself. Men have seen themselves as being different from women, and indeed they are, because women have different physiologies and different experiences from them.
One of the spheres that the male perspective has shaped is the legal sphere. MacKinnon says that the state is male,[2]and that the law sees and treats women the way men see and treat women.[3] This form of male dominance is one of the most insidious and pervasive systems of power because it is almost metaphysically perfect. MacKinnon claims that the male’s point-of-viewness in the law is the “standard point-of-viewlessness” which dangerously rationalizes, legitimizes, and imposes the male objectivity and completely irrationalizes women’s subjectivity. By doing so, authoritatively and coercively, the law creates a social order in the interest of the male gender through “embodying and ensuring male control over women’s sexuality at every level, occasionally cushioning, qualifying, or de jure prohibiting its excesses when necessary to its normalisation. […] To the extent possession is the point of sex, rape is sex with a woman who is not yours.”[4] What men have done systematically and thoroughly is distance themselves from women, objectify them and construct different property values about the objectified women in order to control and dominate them in their own interests. It has permeated all spheres and has leveraged the law in an effort to consolidate and legitimise their dominance over women based on their own constructed values. In this sense, the law doesn’t protect women, it protects men’s values concerning women. For example, rape, as defined by the law, centers upon a male-defined loss: the loss of “exclusive access.” As MacKinnon puts it, whenever a rape case “most closely conforms to precedent, to ‘facts,’ to legislative intent, it will most closely enforce social male norms.”
Laws concerning sexual violence require a new perspective, one based in the “female point-of-view”, and a new relation between life and law in order to achieve a form of justice. This will not be possible until the Male Dominance apparatus is dismantled.
2. The Existential Dilemma of the Male Experience
Robin L. West, a leading feminist legal theorist, argues that modern jurisprudence is “masculine” and proposes two ideas in Jurisprudence and Gender.[5] The first idea aligns with Mackinnon’s proposition that jurisprudence is dominated by the male-perspective. She explains that the “fundamental contradiction” that characterises women’s lives, the values, and the dangers are not reflected at any level whatsoever in contract law, torts, constitutional law, or any other legal subfield.[6] Women have values that flow from their potential and physical connection that are not recognised as values by the rule of law, and the dangers that women face are also not recognised as dangers by the rule of law.[7]
The second idea says that the rule of law is a coherent reaction to the existential dilemma that follows the description of the male experience in legal liberalism of material separation from the other. West explains that the existential condition of being a man is the fear of annihilation and the value of autonomy. In contrast, the existential condition of being a woman is the fear of separation and the value of intimacy. What the rule of law is doing, as West explains, is taking the male experience of material separation from the other and shaping itself accordingly. Thus, the rule of law acknowledges the danger of annihilation and the rule of law protects the value of autonomy, but it neither recognises nor values intimacy, and neither recognises nor protects against separation.[8] When it comes to rape, West says that it is “understood to be a harm, and is criminalised as such, only when it involves some other harm,” a form of harm that men can understand. This aligns perfectly with Mackinnon’s idea that rape is a male-defined loss: “sex with a woman that is not yours”.
When laws are reformed with the goal of bettering the situation of women, they are often reformed by characterizing women’s injuries as analogous, if not identical with, men’s official values. They might be progressive in one way or another, but as Mackinnon points out, “how is it empowering in the feminist sense?”. What remains unconfronted is why women are raped, as well as the question of what conditions produce men who systematically express themselves in violent ways towards women.[9]
3. Gender Relations in Contemporary Arab Societies
Lama Abu-Odeh, a Palestinian-American professor of law who wrote extensively on Islamic law, family law and feminism, argues about the production and reproduction of gender relations in contemporary Arab life.[10] An idealized model of gender is imposed on Arab women: they are expected to abstain from any kind of sexual practice before marriage. In this heterosexual, honor/shame-based society, men attribute values to women and their virginity. Abu-Odeh discusses the significance of the hymen and says that it “becomes the socio-physical sign that signifies virginity and gives the woman a stamp of respectability and virtue.”[11] An idea of virginal femaleness is created by men and is then expected to be upheld by women.
The family is a core social unit in Arab society. Because of this, men’s respectability and honor are affected by their family member’s respectability and honor, especially the female ones. Abu-Odeh says “to be an Arab man is to engage in daily practices, an important part of which is to assure the virginity of the unmarried women in your family.”[12] To have a sister that lost her virginity before getting married brings shame to the family and thus brings shame to the brother or father as an individual, which can only be regained if the men avenge their loss of honor by killing the female.[13] Men are not just threatened by their female family members but also by other men approaching their own female family members. This is because the one thing that needs to be physically protected is not the woman, but instead her hymen. The physicality of the hymen, and thus the physicality of honor itself made the brothers and fathers of women hyperaware about the fragility of their honor. Abu Odeh shows that this made the men fear other men’s approaches on the women of their family: “as women have internalized the censoring look of men, so have men internalized the censoring look of other men.”
Abu-Odeh brings up the role of “deal-making” to prevent losing one’s honor. Men promise each other that they will not approach their friend’s women because it would firstly and most importantly bring shame on the friend and secondly betray the friend’s trust. This deal has a double function of “nurturing their brotherly bonds and creating a certain camaraderie between them in their hunt for other women.”
Male Domination of The Lebanese Penal Code
Abu-Odeh’s theory of production and reproduction of gender relations in contemporary Arab life links this theoretical framework to the observable male dominance in the legal frameworks of Arab Societies and, more specifically, Lebanon’s Penal Code. Drawing on West’s idea of material separation from the other, the Arab man’s existential condition lays in his honor, the fear of its annihilation and thus his annihilation, and the value of its autonomy and his own autonomy from it. To be an Arab man is to have honor, but it is also to be free from eternally guarding his honor. To achieve such a balance, MacKinnon explains that men have to authoritatively and coercively enforce their values in their jurisdiction. Indeed the law focuses on honor and understands well what constitutes a violation of honor in Lebanon. The law in Lebanon constitutes the authoritative social order in the interest of men as a gender through “embodying and ensuring male control over women’s sexuality at every level, occasionally cushioning, qualifying, or de jure prohibiting its excesses when necessary to its normalization. […] To the extent possession is the point of sex, rape is sex with a woman who is not yours.”[14]
The law does not protect women, but rather protects men’s values concerning women. Consequently, the Arab man would have achieved the best outcome out of his existential condition by imposing his values in the law through masculinist jurisprudence. The law protects his honor so that he does not have to do so himself. The law absolutely protects the fear of his honor’s annihilation, thus his own annihilation, and his value of his autonomy from women’s honor. This perfectly aligns with Abu-Odeh’s explanation of “deal-making.” The law enshrines individual-level deals and applies them to every man: “the function of these prohibitive demands is not only the preservation of actual virginity but the production of the public effect of virginity,”[15] and thus the protects men’s honor at the expense of women’s experiences.
The Laws in the Lebanese Penal Code
The Lebanese Penal Code does not recognise sexual violence as a crime committed against people but rather a crime against the values and morals of society. In fact, laws concerning sexual violence are not found in the Penal Code’s section for crimes and offenses against an individual’s life and integrity. Rather, they are found in a different section: attacks on morals.[16] The Penal Code also fails to enumerate or identify other forms of sexual violence such as sexual assault and abuse. In fact, it does not clearly define sexual assault as a violation of physical safety and sexual independence, although these acts can be punishable as indecent. These laws hint towards the protection of honor rather than the victim.
In my research I have found that Articles 503, 507, and 512 of the Penal Code have been the most used in cases of sexual violence:
Cases of sexual assault revolve around the concept of virginity and the physicality of the hymen. Therefore, medical examiners usually conduct medical examinations in order to prove or disprove the virginity of the victim. The resulting medical reports are a crucial element in rape cases because they represent the physical breaking of social morals. I have selected three different cases in order to highlight the importance of the medical report and the hymen in Lebanese jurisprudence.
Court Cases
Case File n° 2016/106 [17]
Court: Criminal Court
Number: 106
Year: 2016
Date of Hearing: 23/03/2016
Presiding Judge: Faysal Hadid
Counsellor Judges: El Khoury – Al Qossais
Decision Number: 2016/106
Facts: On the 8th of April 2010, the plaintiff Lana Antoun Sidi filed a lawsuit against her husband Henry Abdel Karim and the Nepalese migrant domestic worker Sanu Peltamanuk, accusing them of adultery.[18] Sanu testified and said that her husband forced her to have sex with him multiple times using violence and threats, raping her in a “brutally inhuman way”.[19] The prosecution brought Larissa Mamadou Go, a previous migrant domestic worker from the Ivory Coast, to testify in court against the accused. Mamadou’s testimony resembled Peltamanuk’s: she said that the accused raped her and sexually abused her as well. The accused denied having raped the two women and said that the true reason behind this case is that the plaintiff, his wife, wanted to get a divorce and that the Evangelical Church, to which they belong to and got married in, does not allow divorce in the exception of the case of adultery. He added that his wife was in a relationship with another man.
Decision: The court accepted the appeal filed by the defendant on the basis of changing the nature of the motive of lawsuit.
Reason: In this case, no medical reports were submitted by the plaintiff to prove the non-virginity of the victims. The testimonies of the two women were rejected by the accused’s negation of the crimes and no other evidence was presented in court. Thus, the decision was based on believing the defendant’s testimony over that of the women.
Case File n° 2015/302 [20]
Court: Criminal Court
Number: 302
Year: 2015
Date of Hearing: 17/06/2015
Presiding Judge: Jocelyn Matta
Counsellor Judges: Howayek – Abdallah
Decision Number: 2015/302
Facts: In 2014, the plaintiff filed a suit against her husband, accusing him of the crime of attempted rape and sexual harassment of her three underage children, all between the ages of 10 and 14. All three children testified against their father. Dr. Bilal Sablouh, the medical examiner, conducted three medical reports that prove anal penetration in all three girls. The accused consistently denied the crime and stated that his wife was promiscuous, having been in multiple relationships with multiple other men. The public prosecutor asked for the conviction of the accused, who asked for “acquittal, pity and mercy”.[21]
Proving the perpetration of such crime requires concrete evidence that amounts to a recognition of the perpetration of the crime itself. This medical examination does not prove the perpetration of the crime and is not considered concrete enough. No new additional evidence has been submitted to the court by the prosecution.
Decision: The court acquitted the accused of the crime of rape as defined in Article 507,[22] supported by Article 511,[23] on the basis of failure of proving the perpetration of the indecent act and the sex with his minor daughters by threat of violence, and insufficient evidence. His kids’ and wife’s testimonies were not taken as proof.
Reason: Medical reports are usually needed in order to prove sexual harassment and rape. What is being measured in these medical reports is the virginity of the victim: if the victim lost her virginity, then the act is criminal; if it cannot be proven that the victim lost her virginity because of the act committed, then it can’t be used as proof of crime. In this case, the medical report clearly shows that there has been anal penetration of all three girls, but the court decided that the medical report was not enough proof. The defendant only had to deny the accusations in order to be acquitted, despite the fact that three testimonies were brought against him backed by medical proof.
Case File n°2016/204 [24]
Court: Criminal Court
Number: 204
Year: 2016
Date of Hearing: 16/03/2016
Presiding Judge: Mohammed Mathloum
Counsellor Judges: Al Habal – Al Hajj
Decision Number: 2015/302
Facts: On the 9th of November 2009 the plaintiff Nabil Mounir Yamout filed a suit against Hassan Mahmoud Meri accusing him of raping his daughter (N.Y). Nabil Mounir Yamout had legal guardianship of his underage daughter N.Y which is why he was able to prosecute the accused on behalf of the victim. The victim testified against the accused, describing how he raped her and how she lost her virginity. Dr. K.J., the medical examiner, provided a medical report that showed that the victim indeed lost her virginity. The accused stated that he knew the girl N.Y, and he had the intention of marrying her,[25] but denied the accusation of having raped her. The prosecutor asked for the conviction of the accused and asked for $30,000 USD as reparation for damages caused by the assault. The defence asked for the acquittal of the accused on the basis of lack of evidence.
Decision: The court charged the accused under Article 503[26] of the Penal Code and supported by Article 512[27] of the Penal Code as a result of ascertaining the victim’s testimony that the accused raped her by means of violence and threat. The accused stripped her of her honor at the time when she was still underage, evidenced in the light of the medical report’s findings. Secondly, the court stipulated that the convicted pay 25,000,000 LBP to the family for damages.
Reason: In this case, the medical report clearly shows that the victim lost her virginity, which the court refers to as honor and dignity. The perpetrator was the cause of that loss and the medical report evidences it. The court understood the loss of dignity through rape as a grave crime, which is why it not only convicted the criminal but also made him pay LBP 25,000,000 for damages.
The Male Point-of-View in The Law
The Lebanese Penal Code is shaped by the male point-of-view: it constructs social order in the interest of the male gender. Male values are enshrined in legal codes which consequently rationalises a patriarchal ideology and poses an existential threat to women as a gender.[28] In reviewing cases of sexual violence, two elements have proven to be of great importance: the hymen and the medical report.
- The Hymen and The Law
The fact that the Lebanese laws concerning sexual violence are not found in the Penal Code’s section for crimes and offenses against an individual’s life and integrity but are found instead under the attacks on morals section[29] shows how cases of sexual assault revolve around the concept of morals. An idea of virginal femaleness is created by male morality and is expected to be upheld by women. The law is then constructed to protect male morals using a male understanding of existence,[30] while the virginal femaleness becomes a protected idea in the law.
Indeed, as the selected case studies have shown, a crime of sexual violence is only committed when there is medical proof that the hymen has been broken. Otherwise, the nature of the assault becomes hard to understand, because no attack on society’s morals has been committed. What is being protected by the Lebanese Penal Code is not women, it is their virginity, and more specifically the hymen itself. The Lebanese male’s point-of-view has authoritatively enforced its values in
2. The Medical Report and The Effect of Rational “Point-of-Viewlessness”
MacKinnon explains that men have to authoritatively and coercively enforce their values. Indeed, Lebanese law focuses on honor and understands very well violations of honor in Lebanon. The male’s point-of-view in the law has become the unquestioned “standard point-of-viewlessness.”[32]
The “standard point-of-viewlessness” that the Lebanese male point-of-view has subtly enforced in the law can be seen in the legal system’s overreliance on medical reports in sexual violence cases. The medical report has the function of providing logical and rational proof in cases of rape and other cases of sexual violence. To someone whose goal is to protect virginity, this medical report makes perfect sense as it analyses the physical shape of the hymen and proves whether it has been broken or not. The medical report thus signifies male objectivity in the law. But to someone whose goal is to bring justice to sexual assault survivors, this medical report is useless and sometimes even inimical to their case. In fact, instances of sexual assault often surpass the definition that the law gives it, making it almost impossible to get justice when the law has such a narrow definition and understanding of sexual assault. The Office on Women’s Health gives a list of types of sexual assault which includes: “fondling or unwanted touching above or under clothes, voyeurism, exhibitionism, sexual harassments or threats, forcing someone to pose for sexual pictures, texting unwanted photos or messages, etc.…”. Because these acts of sexual assaults do not revolve around the hymen and honor the Lebanese Penal Code does not recognize them as punishable acts. Women’s subjectivity is not recognized by the law. Instead the law protects men’s honor at the expense of women’s experiences.
Conclusion
As the sexual violence cases have shown us, those who win in court, whether they be the prosecutors or the defendants, are the men protecting their honor. In Case File n° 2016/106[33], the defendant Abdel Karim’s appeal was accepted by the court, and his honor was thus defended by denying the accusations. In Case File n° 2015/302[34], the defendant (R.T) was able to save his honor by denying the accusations and the medical report in this case did not prove the breaking of the hymen of the three girls. Because the medical report did not prove the breaking of the socio-physical sign of morals under Lebanese law meant that no crime had been proven.[35] In Case File n° 2016/204[36], the plaintiff Nabil Mounir Yamout was able to restore his honor by winning a case against his daughter’s rapist. He initially lost his honor when his daughter was raped by Hassan Mahmoud Meri, but proving that rape happened and that his daughter lost her virginity—proven by the medical report—the plaintiff Nabil Mounir Yamout restored his honor when the defendant was charged with rape.
Angela Davis said “as you further shape the theoretical foundations of this movement and as you implement practical tasks, remind yourselves as often as possible that even as individual victories are claimed, the ultimate elimination of sexist violence will depend on our ability to build a new and revolutionary global order, in which every form of oppression and violence against humankind is obliterated.” [37] Feminism’s role in jurisprudence is to uncover how the patriarchy has subtly but systematically shaped the laws to enforce male standards and definitions of existence that consequently oppress women, and challenge this male apparatus. It should also aim to transform male jurisprudence and replace it with a humanist jurisprudence. In Lebanon, feminist NGOs have been challenging the dominant patriarchal jurisdiction and have had a few victories. Despite those small victories, masculinist jurisprudence still poses an existential threat to women in Lebanon. The honor/shame system that plagues the legal system needs to be addressed and male values, enshrined in the law since the Ottoman era, need to be revised. The feminist movement in Lebanon has started this discussion, but it still needs to hold on to its utopian vision and stand its ground in the face of conservative opposition.”
Works Cited:
[1] Mackinnon, Catharine A. Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983, pp. 635-658
[2] Susan Rae Peterson, “Coercion and Rape: The State as a Male Protection Racket,” in Feminism and Philosophy, ed. Mary Vetterling-Braggin, Frederick A. Elliston, and Jane English (Totowa, N.J.: Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1977), pp. 360-71; Janet Rifkin, “Toward a Theory of Law Patriarchy,” Harvard Women’s Law Journal 3 (Spring 1980): 83-92
[3] Mackinnon, Catharine A. Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983, pp. 635-658
[4] Ibid.
[5] West, Robin. Jurisprudence and Gender. Chicago: The University of Chicago Law Review, 1988, pp1-24
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Mackinnon, Catharine A. Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983, pp. 643
[10] Abu Odeh, Lama. Honor Killings and the Construction of Gender in Arab Societies. D.C: Georgetown University Law Center, 2010, pp. 911-952
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Lama Abu Odeh talks about honor killing in her paper Honor Killings and the Construction of Gender in Arab Societies
[14] Mackinnon, Catharine A. Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983, pp. 635-658
[15] Abu Odeh, Lama. Honor Killings and the Construction of Gender in Arab Societies. D.C: Georgetown University Law Center, 2010, pp. 911-952
[16] Lebanese Criminal, Code C. pén. Libanais
[17] Lana Antoun Sidi v. Henry Abdel Karim (2010) case number 2010/106 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=122501&selection=
[18] Articles 487-489 punishes a woman who commits adultery with a prison sentence from three months to two years. She is found guilty if the act takes place inside or outside her home. A man committing adultery, however, has to be caught in the act in his own home or be known by others to be conducting an illicit affair to be sentenced to prison for one month to a year. A woman is required to have the testimony of witnesses to prove her innocence, whereas a man can be proven innocent based on lack of material evidence, such as incriminating letters or documents.
[19] Details of the testimony can be found in the case report pp. 2: Lana Antoun Sidi v. Henry Abdel Karim (2010) case number 2010/106 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=122501&selection=
[20] K.T v. R.T (2015) case number 2015/302 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=111527&selection=
[21] Ibid.
[22] Article 507: Whoever, with the help of violence or threats, has forced a person to undergo or to do an act contrary to modesty, will be punished with hard labour for a duration not inferior to 4 years. The minimum of the punishment will be of 10 years if the victim didn’t have 15 years.
[23] Article 511: The punishments detailed In articles 503 to 505 and 507 to 509 will be elevated if the accused is one of the people described in article 506.
[24]Nabil Mounir Yamout v. Hassan Mahmoud Meri (2016) case number 2016/204 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=121294&selection=
[25] At the time of the case, article 522 of the penal code wasn’t repealed yet. This article gives the rapist a chance of evading prosecution and sentencing in case he marries the victim, which might’ve been an option for the defense in this case.
[26] Article 503: Whoever, with the use of violence or threats, has forced a person in a sexual act outside marriage will be punished with not be less than 5 years of prison. The punishment will not be less than 7 years if the victim was younger than 15 years old.
[27] Article 512: Whoever has laid hand in an impudent manner or has committed an analogue act of impudicity on a minor of either sex younger than 15, or on a woman or girl of 15 years or more without her consent, will be punished with imprisonment that will not exceed 6 months.
[28] When I say ‘doesn’t make sense to women’ I mean the idea of being a woman. Obviously, there are women who believe deeply in the patriarchal ideology and blindly accept it, and often reject any criticism of it on the basis of morals and tradition.
[29] Lebanese Criminal, Code C. pén. Libanais
[30] MacKinnon explains that men have to authoritatively and coercively enforce their values in jurisdiction.
[31] Mackinnon, Catharine A. Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983, pp. 635-658
[32] Mackinnon, Catharine A. Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983, pp. 635-658
[33] Lana Antoun Sidi v. Henry Abdel Karim (2010) case number 2010/106 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=122501&selection=
[34] K.T v. R.T (2015) case number 2015/302 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=111527&selection=
[35] The defendant was acquitted of his crimes on basis of lack of evidence.
[36]Nabil Mounir Yamout v. Hassan Mahmoud Meri (2016) case number 2016/204 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=121294&selection=
[37] Angela Y. Davis. Violence against women and the ongoing challenge to racism. Florida: Florida State University. Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1985.
Bibliography:
Abu Odeh, Lama. Honor Killings and the Construction of Gender in Arab Societies. D.C: Georgetown University Law Center, 2010
Lebanese Criminal, Code C. pén. Libanais
Mackinnon, Catharine A. Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press
Susan Rae Peterson, “Coercion and Rape: The State as a Male Protection Racket,” in Feminism and Philosophy, ed. Mary Vetterling-Braggin, Frederick A. Elliston, and Jane English (Totowa, N.J.: Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1977), pp. 360-71; Janet Rifkin, “Toward a Theory of Law Patriarchy,” Harvard Women’s Law Journal 3 (Spring 1980): 83-92
West, Robin. Jurisprudence and Gender. Chicago: The University of Chicago Law Review, 1988
Sources:
“1 In 3 American Women Has Experienced Some Type of Sexual Violence.” Womenshealth.gov, 14 Mar. 2019, www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/sexual-assault-and-rape/sexual-assault.
K.T v. R.T (2015) case number 2015/302 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=111527&selection=
Lana Antoun Sidi v. Henry Abdel Karim (2010) case number 2010/106 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=122501&selection=
Nabil Mounir Yamout v. Hassan Mahmoud Meri (2016) case number 2016/204 (Court of Appeal, Lebanese Criminal Court). Court decision transcript can be found online in Arabic: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/ViewRulePage.aspx?ID=121294&selection=