HCP: 94% of Domestic Violence Suffered by Men is Psychological

Rabat – The overwhelming rate (94%) of domestic violence suffered by men is of psychological nature, a new survey by Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) has found.

HCP published the results of its survey in a “note” titled “Differentiation of violence between women and men and its male perception.”

Exploring the similarities and differences between the forms of violence inflicted on women and men in both the private and public spaces, HCP found “significant differences” in the forms of “violence suffered by women and men in each living space.”

While the violence suffered by men is primarily psychological (94%), violence against women takes four main forms: psychological (69%), economic (12%), physicial (11%), and sexual (8%).

According to HCP, psychological distress is the predominant form of violence inflicted on both women and men in Morocco. While men and women encounter such violence in various places, the survey established that psychological violence is most common in a family setting.

In terms of economic violence, the survey found women (17%) to be more exposed to economic disturbance than men (6%).

In a surprising rebuke of a number of popular perceptions, HCP found that Moroccan men suffer more physical violence than women: The figure for physical assault is 19% for men, compared to only 7% for women.

As for sexual violence, HCP found that women are the most vulnerable – or targeted- and that they suffer sexual assaults in a wide range of spaces. 42% of women said they were sexually harassed in public spaces, compared to 37% in an academic or educational setting and 21% in the workplace.

For men, the rate of sexual violence is: 14% in an academic or educational environement, 8% in public spaces, and 2% in the workplace.