The United Nations Children’s Fund said on Friday that the number of incidents of child abuse and exploitation it has handled in Lebanon has nearly doubled in the last year, owing to the country’s economic crisis.
The Lebanese are under tremendous stress as their country faces an unparalleled economic catastrophe, the worst in its history, with inflation and unemployment skyrocketing and more than 80 percent of the population living in poverty.
According to UNICEF, this has forced parents to send their children to work and force their daughters into early marriages, resulting in an increase in the number of babies abandoned on the streets.
‘I don’t think it’s acceptable or preventable, and I don’t think we can use the excuse of a political or financial crisis to explain this violation of rights,’ said Najat Maala M’jid, the United Nations special envoy on violence against children, who is now visiting Lebanon.
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