The A Project: Spreading Awareness And Establishing Agency For Lebanese Sexuality

Established in 2014, The A Project is a national civil society organization that seeks to solidify the agency, alternatives, and autonomy of sexuality, sexual health, and gender in Lebanon. The project addresses communities of all ages living in Lebanon, and aims to strengthen understandings about sexuality and sexual inequality through a series of different public service programs. Inspired by feminist activists from India, The A Project also tackles issues of disease-prevention and violence through a sex-positive context which seeks to diminish taboos regarding sexuality in Lebanon.

The first of its kind in Lebanon, The A Project recently introduced their sexuality hotline as a service for women of all ages who seek information and services regarding sexuality and reproductive health. The hotline provides information on various topics related to sexual health: contraception, abortion, sexually-transmitted infections and diseases, sexual orientations, gender identity, sexual violence, safety, and pleasure. For individuals who find themselves battling their inner truths because of our culture’s repressive stance on gender identity, The A Project helps female and transgender communities with questions regarding their sexual and reproductive health, and with advice regarding sexual agency. Who picks up the phone? Volunteers with extensive training on sexuality counseling, who promise to approach callers with utmost respect and confidentiality.

For individuals who have been the victims of sexual assault or rape, The A Project’s hotline serves as a platform from which they can communicate their trauma and gain the tools needed to deal with the psychological aftermath. The A Project welcomes with open arms any and all individuals who seek help in working through personal issues related to sexuality and gender which are often suppressed or regarded as taboo in the Middle East and Lebanon.

The A Project also hosts support groups based on their callers’ requests and needs – where people who have common issues and concerns can meet together and dissect the issues they are facing in a collective and collaborative way. This aspect helps establish an atmosphere in Lebanon where individuals can feel safe discussing culturally-sensitive topics, in addition to giving callers the opportunities to discuss their issues with others who can relate, benefiting both individuals and society as a whole.

Lastly, The A Project hosts a series of community involvement workshops where individuals can learn about and openly discuss reproductive and sexual health and sexual rights. These outreach programs are focused on, but not limited to, communities in Lebanon that are the least exposed to sexual education and have the least awareness/freedom due to their socio-economic conditions – often involving refugee communities, displaced individuals, and migrants. The A Project is happy and willing to offer workshops to any organizations and institutions who approach them.

The A Project deserves to be recognized for its progressive and fruitful approach to the oftentimes surreptitious issues of sexuality sexual inequality in Lebanon, and for offering individuals who are less likely to be sexually-informed a resource for growth and education. The organization also highly contests issues of gender stereotyping and encourages individuals to pursue their sexual and gender orientations in the ways they see fit. No matter what belief system you adhere to, and whether or not you contest notions of sexual freedom, it should never be questioned whether or not individuals have the right to be themselves, and The A Project makes that notion clear. We need more initiatives like this in order to help further the societal progress in Lebanon, and to help contextualize the plight of Lebanese sexuality on a global scale.

The A Project’s Sexuality Hotline for Women is open everyday from 5 PM to 11 PM. You can reach the hotline by calling +961 76 680 620, or via email at sexualityhotline@gmail.com.