The alarming surge in the disappearance and flight of women and girls in Lebanon has escalated in recent years, emerging as a grave humanitarian and human rights concern that requires immediate and sustained attention. Lebanon’s ongoing economic collapse, political turmoil, and social fragmentation have created fertile ground for various forms of gender-based violence, exploitation, and discrimination. Women and girls, often caught at the intersection of traditional patriarchal norms and worsening socioeconomic conditions, face heightened vulnerability to abuse, coercion, and trafficking. As a result, there has been a marked increase in the number of women reported missing or who have chosen to flee abusive environments, seeking safety and autonomy away from home. This phenomenon, while reflecting individual acts of survival, speaks to broader systemic failures, ranging from inadequate legal protections and weak enforcement mechanisms to social stigma and pervasive gender inequality, that perpetuate a climate of insecurity for females across Lebanon (UN Women, 2023; KAFA, n.d.).

In early 2021, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), in collaboration with local organizations Fe-Male and KAFA, released a Gender Alert report highlighting the alarming rise in cases of missing women and girls (UN Women, 2023). According to this report, the number of registered cases rose from 81 in 2021 to 129 in 2022, representing a nearly 60% increase within just a twelve-month period (UN Women, 2023). Significantly, the internal data from the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) indicate that disappearances linked to domestic violence, mental health issues, family disputes, and other unknown causes disproportionately affected females, with the number of missing women and girls more than double that of their male counterparts during the same timeframe (UN Women, 2023). These figures, while shocking on their own, likely only scratch the surface; many cases go unreported due to social stigma, fear of retribution, and distrust of governmental authorities, especially among marginalized communities and migrant populations (Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, n.d.; ABAAD, n.d.).

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, further exacerbated the precarious situation for women and girls in Lebanon. Lockdown measures, movement restrictions, and the closure of social services created conditions in which domestic violence surged, even as victims found themselves trapped at home with their abusers. A striking indicator of this trend is the 241% increase in domestic violence reports during the pandemic period compared to the preceding eighteen months (UN Women, 2023). In March 2020 alone, hotline calls reporting physical and emotional abuse doubled compared to the same month in 2019, signaling that many women and girls were enduring increasing violence behind closed doors (UN Women, 2023). Moreover, data collected in late 2020 revealed that 44% of Lebanese and Syrian women and girls felt less safe at home, while 57% felt less secure in their communities than before the pandemic, a clear sign that both private and public spaces had become more threatening (UN Women, 2023). As essential services, shelters, and helplines faced underfunding and reduced capacity, many women had no recourse but to flee their homes, contributing to the uptick in missing person reports and the growing phenomenon of self-directed flight.

Human trafficking and exploitation represent another critical dimension of this deepening humanitarian emergency, particularly impacting migrant domestic workers trapped under Lebanon’s kafala system. Established decades ago, the kafala sponsorship framework ties a migrant worker’s legal residency status directly to their employer, effectively granting employers near-total control over their domestic workers’ mobility and employment conditions (KAFA, n.d.). In practice, this system has pervasive exploitation, including forced labor, sexual abuse, nonpayment of wages, and physical violence. For many migrant women, the kafala system creates a labyrinth of legal and bureaucratic barriers that prevent them from seeking protection or escape. The Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation Unit of KAFA has documented numerous cases in which female migrant workers have endured sexual abuse, coercion, and physical restraint, often with impunity for perpetrators (KAFA, n.d.).

One particularly harrowing case involved a 24-year-old domestic worker from Sierra Leone named Isatta Bah, who was brought to Lebanon with promises of fair wages and decent living conditions. Instead, Bah recounted enduring relentless verbal abuse, sexual violence, and confinement by her employer, who refused to allow her contact with her family or any external assistance. After finally escaping her employer’s residence in Beirut, Bah remained in hiding for weeks, too fearful to approach the police due to the kafala system’s stipulations that undocumented workers face arrest and deportation (Lawal & Redfern, 2020). “I thought I would be safe here, but I felt more like a prisoner,” Bah stated in an interview for Time magazine. “I had nowhere to turn; the law was not on my side” (Lawal & Redfern, 2020, p. 2). Ultimately, she relied on the intervention of a local NGO to navigate the bureaucratic hurdles and secure a path to repatriation (Lawal & Redfern, 2020). Cases like Bah’s underscore how the convergence of legal precarity, social isolation, and physical danger drives many women to flee their employers, and sometimes their homes, without informing authorities, only to be recorded later as missing persons.

Beyond the kafala system, broader patterns of trafficking for sexual exploitation intersect with the vanishing of Lebanese and non-Lebanese women alike. KAFA’s Anti-Trafficking Unit has reported that most documented trafficking incidents within Lebanon involve sexual exploitation and violence, with traffickers capitalizing on the vulnerabilities caused by economic desperation, displacement, and gender inequality (KAFA, n.d.). For Syrian refugee women and girls, many of whom lack formal legal status, the threat of trafficking is especially acute. Living in overcrowded informal settlements with limited access to education and economic opportunities, Syrian women and girls have been coerced into abusive and tyrannical situations by traffickers who promise them safety, school enrollment, or work (UN Women, 2023). These promises often prove illusory; once entrapped, victims face physical and psychological coercion that strips them of autonomy. Many manage to escape but remain too afraid to report to law enforcement, fearing deportation or stigmatization, and thus their disappearances are often recorded as unclassified missing persons cases (UN Women, 2023).

Systemic legal and institutional barriers in Lebanon further compound the grave and escalating reality of missing and fleeing women. One of the most significant obstacles is the deeply entrenched patriarchal framework governing personal status laws. Under these laws, which date back to the Ottoman era and have evolved through various legislative reforms, women’s rights to marriage, divorce, custody, and inheritance are determined by religious authorities according to their sectarian affiliation. As a result, women often face discrimination when seeking civil documentation, custody of children, or fair division of assets in divorce proceedings (Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, n.d.). In situations where a woman flees an abusive spouse or family member, the mere act of leaving home can be construed as “abandonment", potentially leading to the loss of custody of her children or denial of alimony (Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, n.d.).

The absence of a specific legal category for disappeared persons compounds these challenges. Prior to 2018, families of missing individuals had little recourse to demand official investigations or access to information about their loved ones, a legacy of Lebanon’s fraught history of civil war and political violence, during which thousands of individuals, primarily men, were forcibly disappeared. It was not until the passing of Law No. 105 (2018) that the state established a National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared, tasked with investigating past and present disappearance cases and assisting families (International Center for Transitional Justice [ICTJ], 2020). However, the law’s implementation has been slow, beset by bureaucratic delays, underfunding, and political interference. To date, the commission has launched only a handful of inquiries into disappearance cases, and many families, particularly those of women and girls, continue to lack clarity on how to file complaints or access support (ICTJ, 2020). Moreover, Lebanon has signed but not ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, limiting the state’s accountability to international standards (ICTJ, 2020).

Social stigma around gender-based violence and “disappearing” women further discourages reporting and heightens vulnerability. In many Lebanese communities, family honor, social reputation, and religious considerations intersect to create a culture of silence around domestic violence, sexual assault, and forced marriage. Women who flee abusive spouses or in-laws may be ostracized or shamed by their families and communities, accused of bringing dishonor or behaving immorally. An investigative report by the Cedar Centre for Legal Studies (n.d.) noted that over 90% of women who flee abusive situations do not report their cases to the police, fearing that they will be treated as criminals or face further victimization within a justice system that often prioritizes family “reconciliation” over individual protection. This culture of silence not only drives women underground but also distorts official statistics, making it difficult to grasp the full scale of this worsening plight (Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, n.d.; ABAAD, n.d.).

The normalization of gender-based violence within domestic and public spheres is another key factor driving disappearance and flight. A 2021 campaign by ABAAD highlighted that 96% of domestic violence cases in Lebanon went unreported, revealing the extent to which fear, stigma, and lack of trust in law enforcement discourage victims from seeking help (Raydan, 2021). Many women who attempt to report abuse are met with dismissive attitudes from police officers, who may perceive domestic disputes as “private matters” not warranting state intervention. In other instances, abusive husbands manipulate legal loopholes, such as exploiting sectarian courts or obtaining restraining orders against the victim, to further entrench control over their wives (ABAAD, n.d.; UN Women, 2023). The fear of retaliation, ranging from intensified violence to the loss of children or economic support, leads many women to choose flight over reporting, opting to escape their abusers without notifying authorities. Once they vanish, families are left in limbo, reluctant to file missing person complaints due to the aforementioned stigma and distrust.

For families of missing women and girls, the absence of clear legal pathways to seek justice inflicts profound psychological and economic hardships. A study by the Cedar Centre for Legal Studies (n.d.) documented numerous cases in which families, primarily from rural or economically disadvantaged backgrounds, lacked the resources to hire lawyers or petition the courts for information. With no specialized protocols on enforced disappearance, especially for women, investigations often stall at preliminary inquiries. Interviews with affected families reveal the devastating toll: parents oscillating between hope and despair, siblings burdened by uncertainty, and children left without mothers. One mother, whose daughter disappeared in 2022 after fleeing an abusive marriage, explained, “Every night, I pray for a miracle, but every morning I wake to the same emptiness. The state does not care about my pain, and I do not know where to turn” (Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, n.d., para. 12). This collective trauma underscores the urgent need for more comprehensive support mechanisms, including legal assistance, psychosocial counseling, and financial aid.

Despite these daunting challenges, civil society organizations in Lebanon have emerged as crucial lifelines for women and girls at risk of disappearance or flight. Organizations such as ABAAD, KAFA, and the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (RDFL) operate shelters, hotlines, and legal aid clinics, often filling the void left by under-resourced state institutions. ABAAD’s Safe Houses Program, for instance, provides temporary shelter, medical care, and legal counseling for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. Through their helpline, which operates 24/7, trained caseworkers address immediate safety needs, facilitate emergency relocations, and connect victims with psychological support (ABAAD, n.d.). In 2021 alone, ABAAD’s helpline received over 2,500 calls from women seeking refuge from domestic violence, demonstrating the critical demand for accessible, confidential support (ABAAD, n.d.). Similarly, KAFA’s Anti-Trafficking Unit collaborates with international partners to rescue and rehabilitate trafficking survivors, advocating for policy reforms to abolish exploitative labor practices under the kafala system (KAFA, n.d.).

The activism of individual advocates has also played a pivotal role in raising awareness and pressuring authorities to act. Wadad Halawani, whose husband was forcibly disappeared during the Lebanese civil war, has dedicated her life to campaigning for families of missing persons. Through her leadership of the Association of the Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon (AFDL), Halawani has organized annual rallies, participated in international forums, and lobbied Parliament to strengthen Law No. 105 (2018). “We will continue to fight for the truth and for justice, no matter how long it takes,” she declared at a 2020 commemoration event. “Our pain is a testament to the price of silence” (International Center for Transitional Justice [ICTJ], 2020, para. 7). Her tireless advocacy has helped to keep the issue of disappearances in the public eye, although many families still await concrete action.

The international community has also recognized the gravity of the situation. In early 2023, the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) expressed concern over Lebanon’s lack of compliance with international standards, urging the government to accelerate the formation and resourcing of the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances, 2023). The CED’s concluding observations emphasized the urgent need to adopt comprehensive legislation criminalizing enforced disappearance, ensure victim and family protection, and provide adequate reparation (United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances, 2023). While such international pressure has increased awareness, the Lebanese government’s political paralysis and competing priorities, economic collapse, electricity shortages, and the Syrian refugee crisis have impeded meaningful progress.

Economic desperation, another key driver of disappearance and flight, cannot be overlooked. Lebanon’s financial meltdown in late 2019 triggered hyperinflation, widespread unemployment, and the devaluation of the Lebanese pound, pushing nearly 80% of the population below the poverty line by mid-2021 (World Bank, 2022). Women, particularly those from marginalized communities, have borne the brunt of this downturn. A survey by the International Labour Organization (ILO) found that female labor force participation dropped from 22% in 2019 to just 16% in 2021, as many women lost their jobs or faced unpaid wage arrears (International Labour Organization, 2021). As families struggled to afford basic necessities, some women and girls resorted to income-generating activities that exposed them to exploitation. Reports by local NGOs indicate that the desperation to provide for families led some women to enter exploitative relationships under the pretext of financial support, only to find themselves trapped and subject to further abuse (KAFA, n.d.; ABAAD, n.d.). Others fled urban centers to return to rural hometowns, sometimes crossing borders to neighboring countries in search of remittances and opportunities, but without reliable travel documents or safety nets, these journeys often ended in precarious situations or disappearance.

The tribulation of refugee women in Lebanon further complicates this landscape. Since the onset of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Lebanon has hosted over one million registered Syrian refugees, nearly half of whom are women and girls (UNHCR, 2023). Living in overcrowded informal tented settlements (ITSs), refugee women face restricted access to education, healthcare, and employment due to legal barriers and social discrimination. A study by UN Women (2023) documented that one in three Syrian refugee women experienced some form of gender-based violence (GBV) while living in Lebanon, with forced marriage, domestic violence, and sexual exploitation among the most frequently reported abuses. Many young refugee girls, some as young as 13, have been married off by their families as a perceived solution to economic hardship, only to face domestic servitude and physical violence by older husbands. “I was told marriage would protect me,” recalled a 16-year-old Syrian girl who fled an abusive household in northern Lebanon. “But after I was married, he beat me for coming home late and said I had brought shame on the family” (UN Women, 2023, para. 15). Girls like her often attempt to escape these forced unions, leading to unrecorded familial flight and, eventually, classification as missing when they do not return home.

The Lebanese state’s response to the disappearance and flight of women has been widely criticized as insufficient and fragmented. While Law No. 105 (2018) theoretically provides a legal framework to investigate disappearances and assist families, its provisions remain largely unimplemented. As of early 2025, the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared has yet to establish a comprehensive database of missing persons, conduct forensic exhumations of mass graves from the civil war period, or launch public awareness campaigns (ICTJ, 2020). Budget allocations for the commission have been minimal, and appointments to its leadership positions have been delayed due to political infighting among Lebanon’s various sectarian blocs. Judges and law enforcement officers often lack training on how to handle cases involving missing women, conflating them with cases of runaway “morally deviant” individuals, further entrenching stereotypes and bias (Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, n.d.). Moreover, coordination between security agencies, social services, and civil society remains weak, leading to fragmented case management that fails to address the complex needs of victims and their families.

Given the magnitude and multifaceted nature of this urgent human rights issue, recommendations to address the silent vanishing and desperate escape of women and girls in Lebanon must be comprehensive. First and foremost, legal reform is imperative. Lebanon must ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, thereby committing to international standards of prevention, investigation, and reparation (United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances, 2023). At the national level, amendments to personal status laws should prioritize women’s rights to maintain custody of their children when fleeing domestic violence and ensure that leaving an abusive household is not penalized as “abandonment” (Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, n.d.). Furthermore, Lebanon must abolish or radically reform the kafala system to decouple migrant domestic workers’ residency from their employers, allowing them the legal freedom to report abuse without fear of deportation (KAFA, n.d.). Immediate measures could include issuing work permits directly to domestic workers, ensuring access to private banking to receive salaries, and establishing independent labor courts to adjudicate disputes.

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Beyond legal reforms, strengthening institutional capacity and coordination is critical. The National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared requires adequate funding, staffing, and technical expertise to build a centralized, publicly accessible database of missing persons, conduct thorough investigations, and facilitate exhumations when necessary. Security forces and judiciary personnel need specialized training on gender-sensitive and survivor-centered approaches, enabling them to handle cases involving women and girls with empathy and professionalism (Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, n.d.). Additionally, municipalities and local authorities should establish dedicated desks for missing persons, staffed by social workers, psychologists, and legal advisors who can guide families through reporting procedures and connect them to relevant services.

Civil society organizations must continue to be supported and integrated into multi-sectoral frameworks. International donors and UN agencies can play a pivotal role by funding shelters, hotlines, and legal aid clinics operated by organizations such as ABAAD and KAFA (ABAAD, n.d.; KAFA, n.d.). Training programs for grassroots activists, including former survivors, can help expand community-based networks that identify high-risk cases early, whether in ITSs, poor urban neighborhoods, or rural areas, and provide immediate interventions. Public awareness campaigns, conducted through social media, radio, and television, should aim to dismantle stigma around gender-based violence, emphasizing that fleeing an abusive environment is a legitimate act of self-preservation and not a moral failing. These campaigns must also educate communities on recognizing signs of trafficking and exploitation, as well as pathways to safe reporting.

Economic empowerment initiatives targeted at women are another essential component of a holistic solution. In the wake of Lebanon’s economic crisis, vocational training programs, particularly those that offer flexible timetables and childcare support, can help women secure sustainable incomes. Microfinance schemes, run in partnership with local NGOs, can provide small grants or low-interest loans to women-led enterprises, reducing dependency on exploitative employment. For Syrian refugee women, legalizing small-scale home-based businesses and granting work permits would mitigate the risks associated with informal labor, thus decreasing vulnerability to trafficking and abuse (International Labour Organization, 2021). Ensuring that women have financial autonomy can reduce the incentive to remain in abusive relationships due to economic necessity.

Psychosocial support is equally vital. Many families of missing women and girls experience prolonged grief and trauma, which, if unaddressed, can have intergenerational effects. Establishing mobile counseling units that travel to ITSs and rural areas can provide mental health services to both survivors and families of the disappeared. Training religious leaders, who often serve as first points of contact in tight-knit communities, on recognizing signs of gender-based violence and directing victims to appropriate services can help bridge trust gaps between communities and formal support structures (ABAAD, n.d.). Schools should also incorporate gender-sensitivity curricula, teaching children about respectful relationships and early warning signs of abuse, thus fostering long-term cultural change.

Coordination with international organizations is necessary to address cross-border trafficking and disappearance cases. Lebanon should work with INTERPOL to streamline the process of issuing and tracking red notices for traffickers and perpetrators of gender-based crimes. Regional cooperation with neighboring countries—particularly Syria and Turkey—can facilitate safe repatriation processes, ensuring that survivors of trafficking are not inadvertently re-traumatized by closed borders or bureaucratic delays (UN Women, 2023). At the policy level, integrating gender-based violence considerations into broader humanitarian and development strategies, such as the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, would ensure that protection services for women and girls are not siloed but rather embedded within multisectoral programming addressing shelter, health, and economic needs.

Crucially, any efforts to address the disappearance and flight of women and girls in Lebanon must be informed by data. Comprehensive, disaggregated data collection on missing persons, broken down by gender, age, nationality, and context of disappearance, is essential to understand trends and allocate resources effectively. The ISF, in collaboration with the National Commission and civil society partners, should mandate the consistent recording of all missing women and girls, including those who flee due to abuse. Periodic public reports on progress, challenges, and statistical trends would promote transparency and hold authorities accountable to both the Lebanese populace and the international community.

Finally, sustainable change requires grassroots transformation of societal attitudes toward women’s autonomy and rights. Educational initiatives must extend beyond crisis response to embed gender equality in Lebanon’s cultural fabric. In universities and schools, integrating modules on women’s rights, the historical contributions of Lebanese women to arts, politics, and academia, and the legal frameworks protecting them can counteract the patriarchal narratives that ascribe lesser value to female lives. Community dialogues, facilitated by local NGOs, can engage religious leaders, tribal heads, and youth groups in candid conversations about masculinity, respect, and shared responsibility for ending gender-based violence. Empowering survivors to share their stories, through written testimonials, oral histories, and artistic expressions, can humanize statistical data, galvanizing public support for systemic reform.

In sum, the invisible suffering and fear-driven escape of women and girls in Lebanon reflect a complex reality rooted in a convergence of institutional neglect, legal discrimination, socioeconomic collapse, and deep-seated cultural stigma. While the sharp rise in missing person cases over the past two years (from 81 in 2021 to 129 in 2022) signals an escalating tragedy (UN Women, 2023), it also highlights the resilience and agency of women who choose flight over continued victimization. However, individual acts of survival cannot substitute for systemic protections. Meaningful progress requires a multifaceted approach: ratification and implementation of international treaties on enforced disappearance, abolition of exploitative labor systems like kafala, robust legal reforms to protect women’s rights, enhanced institutional capacity for family support and investigation, and broad-based social campaigns to dismantle the patriarchal norms that condone violence and stigmatize victims. Only through sustained collaboration among the Lebanese government, civil society, international partners, and local communities can Lebanon begin to reverse this alarming trend and ensure that every woman and girl has the right to live free from fear, exploitation, and disappearance. 

References:

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