Within Lebanon, there is no formal research surrounding public attitudes towards crime, nor the effects of politics, media and in turn popular punitiveness. This study’s pilot study provided an insight into such areas. The study’s pilot involved a questionnaire completed by fifty-‐three members of the public and although it is impossible to generalize the findings, some of the questions can be used to highlight a trend of popular punitiveness within Lebanon. The questionnaire was composed of three sections:
(1) Basic Information
(2) Knowledge of Sex Crimes, and (3) Attitudes Towards Sex Crimes.
The Basic Information section was composed of questions relating to gender and age. The ‘Knowledge of Sex Crimes’ section included questions surrounding the definition of sex crimes, and the participant’s knowledge and opinions surrounding punishments. This section was composed of open-‐ended questions, which allowed the participants to elaborate on their knowledge surrounding the topic. Conversely, the third section was made up of close-‐ended questions that registered responses on a series of four point likert scales; this was used to
examine participants’ attitudes towards sex crimes. As was previously mentioned, although this pilot study was only meant to act as a pilot for the formulation of interview schedules, several questions used within the questionnaire can point to a popular punitive climate within Lebanon.
One such question included enquiring into participants’ opinions surrounding the severity of punishments attributed to sex offenders. Out of a total of fifty-‐three participants, 69.2% believed punishments were not severe enough. As was previously mentioned, the demand for harsher sentencing is one of the main signs of popular punitiveness. Moreover, another sign of popular punitiveness is the enthusiasm to imprison offenders rather than considering other options. When participants were asked if they thought people who commit a sex crime should always go to prison, the majority (57.7%) agreed.
In relation to the monitoring of sex offenders upon release, this chapter has already examined how popular punitiveness gave rise to strengthening sex offender registers within countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. Within Lebanon, in relation to monitoring sex offenders, this study (through the interviewing of sex offenders as well as several criminal justice professionals) has found there is currently no form of monitoring (See Chapters Five and Six). The lack of registers in Lebanon is due to several barriers such as the lack of professionals and funding rather than Lebanon being less punitive (See Chapter Six).
In relation to developing sex offender registers in Lebanon (another sign of popular
punitiveness) participants were asked if they thought all sex offenders should have to sign a special register every year so the police know where they live. Out of the fifty-‐three
participants the majority agreed (38.5% strongly agreed and 46.2% agreed). The punitive nature of the registers has already been touched upon; therefore, agreeing to the use of a register might point towards Lebanon being more punitive in nature. In addition to the register, when questionnaire participants were asked if they believed sex offenders should be subjected to electronic tagging whereby their movement is restricted to certain areas most participants (59.6%) agreed. Similar to registers, restrictions and electronic tagging are not available within Lebanon. However, the willingness of the participants to apply such measures is a sign of popular punitiveness within Lebanon. In general such restrictions are considered to be punitive as “when applied to new and prior offenders alike, residency restrictions might constitute a form of cruel and unusual punishment” (Niet and Jung, 2006:43). Moreover, electronic tagging
and restrictions are punitive as they take away the person’s right to travel and right to live where one chooses.
This chapter has examined several factors that paved way to popular punitiveness; these factors included the lack of faith in the criminal justice system, the media and the use of popular punitiveness for political gain. As was previously mentioned, the lack of confidence in the criminal justice system has resulted in the rise of popular punitiveness with the public of several countries demanding harsher sentencing and more restrictions of criminals. There is no research surrounding the public’s confidence in the Lebanese criminal justice system.
Therefore, it is impossible to academically argue that the lack of confidence in the Lebanese criminal justice system has paved the way for the rise of popular punitiveness. However, this study’s pilot questionnaire indicates a more general trend of the lack of confidence in the Lebanese criminal justice system. When participants were asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with the statement: “I don't have much confidence in how the police investigate sex crimes”. Out of the fifty-‐three participants, 57.7% strongly agreed and 38.5% agreed with the statement.
The lack of faith in the criminal justice system is due to numerous aspects, some of which include the publics’ knowledge of corruption. The acknowledgment of corruption and the lack of faith in the criminal justice system result in an increase in the fear of crime. However, the lack of faith in the criminal justice system is not the only factor that results in fear of crime, as was previously mentioned media also plays a role. There is currently no research within
Lebanon surrounding fear of crime and the media’s role in promoting it. Therefore, it is difficult to conclude that there is a popular punitive climate resulting from a fear of crime within Lebanon. However, the pilot study interestingly highlighted that public fear does exist. This study’s pilot study asked participants to measure this statement using a likert scale “I am afraid that I, or someone I know may become a victim of a sex crime”. The results (displayed in Figure 1.2) show that the majority of participants strongly agreed (30.8%) and agreed (38.5%) with the statement.
(Figure 1.2 Likert scale percentage findings of the statement “I am afraid that I, or someone I know may become a victim of a sex crime”).
There is a further lack of research surrounding the effects of media and popular punitiveness within Lebanon. Examining the role of the media in promoting popular punitiveness, it can be concluded that the media within countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States play on the public’s fears. Within these countries, the media through the ‘tabloidization’ of the news helps create a popular punitive climate. Sarah’s Law was provided as an example to this connection between the media, public fear and popular punitiveness. The media reports crime in a ‘tabloid’ fashion, trying to promote as much shock as possible while also highlighting the failure of governments to prevent crime (See Section 1.2). “Media images have been found routinely to exaggerate both the levels of violent crime in society and the risk of being offended against” (Greer, 2011:45). This is especially true when reporting of sex offences. “Ditton and Duffy (1983), for example, in an examination of Scottish newspapers over a one month period, argue that ‘crimes involving violence and crimes involving sex together constituted 2.4% of real incidence yet 45.8% of newspaper coverage” (Cited in Greer, 2011:45). Watching the Lebanese news coverage and TV programs surrounding crime it is evident that some dramatization also exists. The reporting of crime within Lebanon, especially sex crime is infrequent due to the taboo associated with it. It is therefore very rare to report crime news, however when crime news reports do take place they tend to be dramatic in nature and highlight the failures of the Lebanese criminal justice system.
30.8 38.5 11.5 7.7 11.5 Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Data Missing
1.5.1 An Example of the Lebanese Media’s Reporting of Sex Crimes
This section will provide details of the media’s reporting of a sex crime for the purpose of highlighting the way in which the media dramatizes crime and emphasises the criminal justice system’s failure. This is done through providing an example of the news coverage of a Child Sexual Abuse case within Lebanon.
In 2013 a mayor of a town was accused of sexually abusing little girls. The news coverage of the story included a brief video of the town where the perpetrator and victim resided, then moved to the use of silhouettes of random girls being attacked and forced to be quiet while a
narration of the story occurred. Some of these images are shown below. Within the first image (Figure 1.3) the number nine is highlighted in red, the highlighting of the young victim’s age may be seen as a ploy by the media to evoke a more emotive response of anger towards the perpetrator. All four images (Figures 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6) are used as a means to evoke fear and convey the idea that this could happen to the viewers’ children. Although all four images may evoke a climate of popular punitiveness, the final image (Figure 1.6) embodies several factors that have been previously identified as factors that pave way to popular punitiveness. The news report ended with this question that translates “Will the judiciary stand by the victims and administer the just punishment of the criminals?” (Figure 1.6). This questioning of the administration of justice may be seen as a reflection of the public’s concerns as well as the media’s ploy to get a reaction from the public.
As was previously mentioned, the public within Lebanon may not be very confident in the criminal justice system due to the high levels of corruption. This lack of confidence is not only highlighted at the end of the report through the use of the question (See image 1.6), it also was touched upon several times within the narration of the story. It was highlighted when the narrator of the news report stated: “the victim’s angry elder brother (who remained anonymous) stated, “if the judges let him lose he is anyways dead dead” (Lebanese Broad Casting International News, 2013). It was highlighted yet again through a narration provided by the new agency: “the judge working on the case has assured that they will work justly in sentencing the accused after the newspapers issued a statement claiming the presiding judge is affiliated with the mayor and may drop all charges” (Lebanese Broad Casting International News, 2013). It is because of such reporting which highlights the failure of and lack of trust in
the Lebanese criminal justice system that may be argued that popular punitiveness exists within Lebanon.
Figure 1.3 Writing that translates to: “The mayor who is her mother’s uncle sexually abused her when she was nine years old” (Lebanese Broad Casting International, 2013).
Figure 1.4 from the same news report (Lebanese Broad Casting International News, 2013)
Figure 1.5 Writing translates to: “she remained silent until another victim filed a complaint against the mayor saying he sexually abused her” (Lebanese Broad Casting International News, 2013).
Figure 1.6 Translation: “Will the judiciary stand by the victims and administer the just
punishment of the criminals?” (Lebanese Broad Casting International News, 2013).
As was previously mentioned, there is a general shift towards popular punitiveness however, there are cultural differences between countries that may act as a barrier to or promote popular punitiveness (See Section 1.4). These cultural differences may include a country’s
moral values that result in it being more or less punitive in nature. Moral values within Lebanon play a very important role within the criminal justice system, as many laws are not amended due to their link with morality. For example, within Lebanon homosexuality is still criminalised due to the fact that it is closely linked with morality and religion (See Chapter Three).
The criminalisation of such acts just because they are viewed to be morally wrong further highlights the punitive nature within Lebanon. Moreover, according to Pratt (2000), within ‘modern’ societies we no longer expect to see arbitrary punishment, public punishment or allow the community to administer or inflict punishment. Pratt claims that such things are found within the ‘pre-‐modern countries’.
“We expect punishments which takes such forms in the prehistory of the modern world, or alternatively, as we look beyond the current parameters of modern society, it is to be found in
non-‐modern forms of social organization: punishments by stoning and amputation, punishments of both a corporal and capital nature that are to be found for example, in Islamic
and Third World societies; and the arbitrary and indeterminate nature of imprisonment and exile to the gulags in those countries that until very recently made up the Eastern block” (Pratt,
2000:3).
Lebanon’s use of arbitrary detention and punishment, in addition to its position as a Third World country results in the argument that Lebanon is within the ‘pre-‐modern’ world and therefore punitive in nature.