Legal action: Lebanon moves toward criminalizing bullying with new draft law

Report by Ghida Fayad, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Bullying in Lebanon may soon carry legal consequences as lawmakers work on a draft law to classify it as a crime under the country's penal code.

The proposed legislation builds on existing provisions that already criminalize slander, defamation, and insults, adding bullying to the list of punishable offenses. 

The draft outlines four key elements that define bullying: repetition of the behavior, the exploitation of an unequal relationship, psychological or social harm to the victim, and the spread of bullying into the digital sphere amid the growth of social media.

Under the proposal, offenders would face prison sentences ranging from six months to two years, in addition to fines between three and 10 times the minimum wage. Penalties would be doubled in cases involving minors, people with disabilities, or when the perpetrator holds material, moral, professional, or educational authority over the victim.

Judges would also be given explicit legal grounds to assess and rule on bullying cases, marking the first time such conduct could be directly prosecuted in Lebanon.

Bullying is widespread across the country. 

According to a joint study by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Lebanon's Education Ministry, 33% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 reported experiencing bullying outside school, while 28% said it occurred inside schools.

The current draft does not cover schools, but LBCI has learned that officials are working on a separate legal framework to address bullying in educational institutions and regulate how such cases are handled.