Rabat – Moroccan NGO Tahadi Asociation for Equality and Citizenship (ATEC) announced the launch of the “Stop Digital Violence” application to strengthen efforts countering online violence against women in Morocco.
Tahadi Association said in a press release that the app is able to offer “practical and intelligent responses and solutions that take into account the dangerous development of the phenomenon of gender-based violence.”
Emphasizing that the project is in line with the national vision to combat gender-based violence, the association termed the application “innovative, and easily accessible.”
“It adopts interactive and convenient language through which women victims of online violence can submit their complaints with their demands easily and without complications,” the press release added.
The initiative saw light with the support of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Rabat, seeking to provide survivors with practical data and information about legal provisions related to violence against women in Morocco.
Bouchra Abdou, an activist, feminist, and president of ATEC, told Morocco World News that the innovation is also in line with the digitalization process, as most people are now working online.
“Since we are in Casablanca, the app will also help women outside the city to file complaints. It is also for women who do not prefer to come to the headquarters personally to speak about their cases. They can download the app and file their complaint, which we will deal with while preserving the secrecy of the victim’s file,” Bouchra Abdou told MWN.
In the app, women subjected to violence will also find phone numbers of associations that can help them in their case, Abdou said.
The activist said that once Tahadi Association receives a case, they talk to the victim and provide her with all information about the legal procedure and steps she will have to follow.
The app will also include a section to explain law articles defending survivors’ rights. It will soon also offer phone numbers of public authorities and administrations.
“Sometimes women, however, prefer NGOs over other institutions.”
Online violence against women and gender-based discrimination are among several common challenges NGOs and activists in Morocco are attempting to address.
Read also: NGOs Condemn Surge of Violence Against Women in Morocco
In September, the High Commission for Planning (HCP), Morocco’s public survey institution, shared alarming numbers on violence against women.
The report shows that for 52% of women and girls who experienced domestic violence in 2019, it was perpetrated by family members or marital partners.
The rate of marital violence increased by 46% between 2009 and 2019, with 5.3 million women aged between 15 and 74 experiencing violence from their partners.
According to HCP, the perpetrators are mainly boyfriends, husbands, ex-husbands, or romantic partners.
Married women are the largest category who reported violence, accounting for 52% of respondents. Approximately 59% of the survivors are aged between 15 and 24.
Recently Morocco’s government vowed to take strict measures against gender-based violence, namely violence against women, following the adoption of Law 103-13 in September 2018.
In 2019, Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) launched support units for women exposed to gender-based violence.
The units seek to provide psychological support and guidance to survivors.
