VOA标准英语2013--Lebanese NGO Collaborates with Religious Leaders to Combat Domestic Abuse

（单词翻译）

Lebanese NGO Collaborates¹ with Religious Leaders to Combat Domestic Abuse

Samah al Turk lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her four daughters, her mother and her sister. The oldest daughter is 12, the youngest, five. Their father is absent from this picture and from their lives. They divorced when she could no longer tolerate his abuse.

"He hit me for things I never did, and people used to shout in front of me: 'Stop hitting her.' When we called the police hotline, they told me they could not interfere," she recalled. "And I believe that this is a tragic² mistake. They wait until the husband kills the wife, or their children get hurt, until anyone interferes³. We should make this generation much more aware than they are now."

That's not easy in a society that shies away from talking openly about domestic violence. Many organizations have tried to tackle the problem without success. Recently, Abaad solicited⁴ help from religious figures.

Lebanon is a country with 17 sects⁵. Although most Lebanese are Muslims, Maronite Christians⁶ make up about one fifth of the population.

Abaad wanted to represent all of Lebanon's religions in a video for Lebanese TV, the Internet and on billboards⁷. But in the end, the message was the same, “Violence against women is a sin. Jesus Christ denounced acts of violence against women.”

"Many people wait for these men to speak to gain some sort of insight towards their lives and how they should live their lives, and so these men coming out with a powerful, direct message about ending violence against women and how the religion stands against violence against women, is so important for the cause," stated Anthony Keedi, program coordinator⁸ at Abaad.

Nabil Shehadi, pastor⁹ at All Saints Church in Beirut, says religious figures have more clout¹⁰ in the Middle East than in the West. "In the Middle East and in Lebanon, there isn’t such a separation between faith and daily living," he said. "And so religious leaders have a big say in society and can be political mobilizers, not just religious leaders, and they’re social mobilizers."

Human rights activists¹¹ in Lebanon believe civil society campaigns like this one are having an impact, but that violence against women and domestic violence require greater attention from both the government and law enforcement for things to truly change.