VTC36 is a 37-year-old Syrian woman living in northern Lebanon. She speaks of her life as if recounting layers of accumulated pain of a childhood that never knew safety, care, or the natural feeling of acceptance. She grew up in what she describes as a harsh environment, one that treated her very existence as a crime, a scandal, and a sin, seeing her difference only as a reason for punishment and exclusion.

At home, there was nothing resembling a family. Her father, whom she describes as violent and alcoholic, would beat and humiliate them, lose consciousness, attempt to harass his children, and bring men into the house. Sometimes they would wake up to find him playing pornographic films on the television. She calls him disrespectful, and says the atmosphere at home was disgusting and harmful. Her mother, she says, was helpless to the point of incapacity unable to defend herself or her children, unable to protect. She repeats that there was no upbringing in that house, no one raised anyone, no one was present to guide or contain. Everything needed psychological and educational rehabilitation.

As the eldest, she carried an early burden. She felt she had to sacrifice. At around 19, she married a much older man not out of love, but for money, so her siblings could live and rest. She describes it as selling herself. She could not bear the idea of marital relations with him, recoiled from him, saw him as a monster. Then he disappeared, and the story ended quickly but not the turmoil inside her.

Over time, she realized her orientation. She confirmed she was not attracted to men, but preferred to be with women. Later, it became clear that her siblings shared the same orientation. Her brother was beaten when it was discovered he was communicating with someone, insulted and told hurtful things. Her sister, in a relationship with a woman, was subjected to severe violence. She says they were beaten often, insulted often, and the verbal abuse continues to this day. In the place they live, this is considered a crime in itself, met with immediate violence and humiliation.

She recalls clearly that they were threatened with death, and someone even tried to kill her brother because of this. She describes their human and social situation as non-existent, no one accepts them, neither at home nor outside. She hears insults walking down the street, finds no one willing to employ her, no one willing to welcome her into their home. She feels that poverty, violence, persecution, and psychological illness are interconnected circles, each feeding the other.

She repeatedly tried to reach out to associations concerned with homosexuality for help, but found no response, the answer always being that there was no room due to the sheer number of cases. Eventually, she received the number of Cedar Centre for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims. She contacted the coordinator, got an appointment, and was received with respect. Her story was listened to in full, with all its pain and details. No one interrupted her, no one made her feel she was wrong. The act of listening itself was the beginning of relief.

At the center, she was first seen by a general practitioner, underwent medical follow-up and necessary tests. It was not a passing consultation, but serious monitoring of her health within a professional framework. In parallel, she was referred to a psychologist at the center. There, she began therapy sessions, recounting the violence at home, social persecution, beatings, insults, and threats. Retelling was painful, but she found someone who listened to the end, without judgment or condemnation.

During this psychological follow-up, because of her severe distress and suicidal tendencies, she was referred to a psychiatrist for deeper care. She was put on medication, which was expensive, but the center covered the costs throughout her treatment. The sessions continued, the support continued, within a framework attentive to her mental state and the seriousness of what she was going through.

She affirms that this path from the general practitioner, to the psychologist, then to the psychiatrist due to her suicidal tendencies was a turning point in her life. Her social reality did not change, nor did her orientation, which she believes God created them with and cannot be changed. But she felt that someone took her suffering seriously, treated her as a case worthy of care, not as a stigma. She found a safe space to speak, genuine medical and psychological follow-up, which helped her confront her dark thoughts and resist them.

After all the violence and rejection, she endured, she needs more than listening or kind words. She needs continuous psychological follow-up, therapeutic sessions that accompany her step by step, protecting her from any suicidal tendencies that may resurface, granting her inner stability after years of trauma.

She also needs a safe and stable environment, away from the home where she grew up in fear and violence, away from harassment and insults, away from a society that rejects her existence. A space that protects her, allows her to breathe without constant anxiety, and provides refuge from the threats she faced.

Equally important is long-term support to address the traumas accumulated since childhood, physical violence, verbal insults, death threats, and all the experiences of social rejection that left deep scars. A genuine and stable support network, people who listen without judgment, who stand by her in moments of pain, would be vital to protect her from isolation and depression.

Finally, she needs to strengthen her sense of acceptance, to find those who accept her as she is, without stigma, proving to her that her life is not doomed to rejection, that there are people who care, support, and give her the chance to live with some reassurance in a world that has never been kind to her.

This story reveals the deep intersection between domestic violence, deprivation of proper upbringing, and social rejection based on sexual orientation, and how these combined factors can produce severe psychological fragility, even suicidal tendencies. The environment she grew up in was marked by insecurity, physical and verbal violence, harassment, and exposure to shocking behaviours at home, laying the foundation for trauma that extended beyond childhood into her later relationships and choices, including her early marriage of sacrifice and necessity.

It also shows that persecution was not limited to the family, but extended to society, beatings, insults, ostracism, death threats, even attempted murder of a sibling. This double rejection, familial and societal, deepened feelings of isolation and worthlessness, reinforcing the sense of having no rights or acceptance.

In contrast, the importance of systematic professional intervention stands out. Her path from general practitioner, to psychologist, to psychiatrist due to suicidal tendencies reflects an integrated approach that took her case seriously. Medical follow-up, psychological support, and provision of medication did not change her social reality, but formed a psychological shield against dangerous thoughts threatening her life.

This case clearly shows that unconditional listening and professional handling of psychological pain can be a decisive turning point, even if external circumstances remain difficult. Between an environment that excludes and punishes, and a space that listens and contains, lies the difference between complete collapse and the possibility of survival.

Human Rights Violations:

1. Right to life and physical integrity:

• Repeated beatings within the family.
• Direct death threats.
• Attempted killing of a family member. This constitutes a direct violation of the right to life and personal security.

2. Protection from violence and ill-treatment:

• Systematic physical and verbal violence inside the home.
• Continuous humiliation and insults based on sexual orientation.
• Exposing children to shocking sexual scenes and behaviors. These acts fall under cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

3. Protection from gender-based and sexual orientation-based violence:

• Assault and beatings due to sexual orientation.
• Threats and social punishment based on identity or sexual orientation. This represents a form of violence rooted in discrimination.

4. Children’s rights:

• Exposure to physical and psychological violence in childhood.
• Family neglect and lack of protection.
• Exposure to attempted sexual harassment. All of this violates the child’s right to protection and to grow up in a safe environment.

5. Right to health (including mental health):

• Lack of early psychological care despite accumulated trauma.
• Suicidal tendencies resulting from the absence of a social protection system. Although later therapeutic intervention was positive, the overall context reflects a failure to ensure early and safe access to care.

6. Right to non-discrimination:

• Social rejection due to sexual orientation.
• Difficulties in employment and social integration. This constitutes discrimination affecting economic and social rights.

Recommendations:

1. Continued specialized long-term psychological follow-up with regular suicide risk assessments.
2. Ongoing medical treatment under consistent professional supervision.
3. Integration into safe, non-judgmental support networks to reduce isolation.
4. Community awareness programs on the dangers of discrimination-based violence.
5. Establishment of safe spaces for individuals persecuted due to their sexual orientation.
6. Promotion of a culture of diversity acceptance and reduction of hate speech.
7. Activation of legal protection against violence and threats.
8. Development of clear protection policies for individuals exposed to violence based on sexual orientation.
9. Support for civil society organizations providing specialized services in psychological and social rehabilitation.