Since 1991, Lebanon’s society has been unstable. War, occupations and state corruption have left its political system and social programs weakened and tensions high amongst religious groups.

The effects of Lebanese politics on the state and its residents, coupled with permissive attitudes towards violence, hate speech, and dehumanization of “the other”, allows people to rationalize impunity of torture perpetrators. This attitude justifies not only the latter’s actions but also the resort to such practices as a conventional tool to punish alleged criminals.

By gathering both qualitative and quantitative data from previous literature, surveys, and interviews, this report explores the perception and practice of violence in Lebanon. It also studies the impact violence has on the acceptance of torture practices and degrading treatment. This paper focuses on the various manifestations of violence in Lebanon since the start of the decade, and investigates the effects violence has on torture in Lebanon.

Report on Socio-Political Contexts of Torture – ARB
Report on Socio-Political Contexts of Torture – ENG