Helem Performs Powerful Social Experiment To Expose Reactions To Two Girls Holding Hands In Beirut

As a part of #IDAHOT 2018 – the worldwide International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, a powerful new video has been released that exhibits how LGBTQ+ individuals face both abuse and support when simply being themselves in public.



Helem is a Lebanese non-profit organization that works to improve the legal and social statuses of LGBTQ+ individuals in the country. Just yesterday, as part of a week-long campaign for IDAHOT, which also coincides with Beirut Pride week, the organization released the powerful video.



The video exhibits a social experiment performed with the help of volunteers seeking to showcase how passersby on a busy Beirut street would react to two girls holding hands in public at a frequented Beirut bar. Met with both support and vehement opposition – the video is a meaningful example of the everyday struggles and abuses LGBTQ+ individuals face when just trying to be themselves.

Watch the video below for eye-opening insight into their experiences.