Identify, Interpret, and Respond

In partnership with IFES and LUPD

Since 2018, ABAAD, in partnership with the Lebanese Union for People with Physical Disabilities (LUPD), and with the support of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) has been running the Identify, Interpret, and Respond project which promotes intersectional advocacy strategies in countering discrimination and barriers to equal participation and equal rights.

Over the course of 4 years, the project flourished and culminated in many positive achievements:

41 civil society organizations participated in different project activities.
25 organisations joined forces to form the Path Coalition: an inclusive collective of Lebanese CSOs. Together they developed an intersectional Policy Platform which details recommendations for interventions under five key priority areas: Inclusive Governance, Legal Frameworks and Reform, Inclusive Education, Inclusive Employment, and Political Rights.
Four policy platform issues were the subject of grants to intersectional coalitions and intersectional approaches:
Inclusive Governance: Riders’ Rights, Darb Al Wafaa
Inclusive Education: Lebanese Association for Self-Advocacy (LASA), MENA Rosa, Palestinian Women’s Humanitarian Organisation, Vivre Positif
Inclusive Employment: Justice without Frontiers (JWF), Lebanese Down Syndrome Association (LDSA), SIDC
Political Rights: Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE), Helem, Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE), and independent youth community mobilisers
Each sub-coalition developed project-related resources, which can be viewed on this page

The Status of Women with Disabilities in Lebanon: A Snapshot of Socio-Political and Economic ImpactsFrom an Intersectional Lens

‘The Status of Women with Disabilities in Lebanon: A Snapshot of Socio-Political and Economic Impacts from an Intersectional Lens’ is a new resource that explores the needs of women with disabilities, particularly in light of the multiple crises afflicting residents of the country.

ABAAD, in partnership with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the Lebanese Union for People with Physical Disabilities (LUPD), conducted this participatory research directly with 150 women with disabilities across Lebanon, in addition to 11 service providers and front-line workers.

This pioneer research, which brings to the forefront a community group that is traditionally underrepresented and deprioritised, scopes out how #COVID19, #violence, and the socio-economic crises have affected women with disabilities, and sets forth actionable recommendations on improving their engagement in social and political life, facilitating their access to services and information, and ensuring the inclusivity of national response plans.

Download the research here