Health, Human Rights & Small Arms Violence in South Lebanon: Results from a random survey of households

In the summer of 2006, an unknown number of civilians were injured and killed during the armed conflict between Hizbollah militias and the Israeli Defense Forces. While the Israeli government kept detailed records of nearly every civilian and soldier killed or injured within Israel during the conflict, Lebanese officials did not keep similar records. Consequently, there is dispute over the number of civilians killed and injured in Southern Lebanon during the conflict. Using Random GPS Coordinate Sampling (RGCS), a representative sample of households in Southern Lebanon were surveyed about their experiences with human rights violations including murders, combat-related deaths, physical and sexual assaults, illegal detentions, and destruction of private property during a 1.5 year period starting with the commencement of armed conflict in July 2007. Data was also gathered regarding injury and death due to cluster bombs and unexploded munitions. In addition, respondents were queried about physical health problems, their beliefs regarding gun ownership and violence, and symptomology of depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder.