Woman held in prison for false charge and sexually harrassed

Sex workers are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault and harassment. In March 2012, Abeer was arrested for allegedly engaging in sex work out of a cafe in Hayy el Sellom, a poor district in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Abeer told Human Rights Watch that she was arrested for no reason and has since been held in Baabda prison awaiting trial. Abeer told Human Rights Watch, I didn’t understand why I was arrested and shoved into the car. One of the officers told me it was because I’m a prostitute and not to lie about it or he’ll kill me. I started to cry, I just didn’t understand what happened. A few years ago I was arrested for sex work, but that is over, this time I really wasn’t doing anything. When we got to Hobeish [police station] I was slapped around and insulted and thrown in a cell with other women. A police officer in civilian clothes came into the room and tried to get someone, anyone, to have sex with him. He would try to touch us, grab our breasts, at first telling us that if we let him, he’d bring us cigarettes. When he touched me, I pushed him away and then he got more forceful, squeezing my breasts really hard and yelling at me. When I screamed, he put his hand over my mouth and hit me hard across the face. The next day another officer interrogated me, and I told him that I didn’t know why I was in detention. He made fun of me and told me to shut up and sign a paper. I don’t read, so I don’t even know what was on it. They kept me there for four days, and I don’t even know why.