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Rabat – The Regional Directorate of the High Commissioner for Planning has shared alarming figures on violence against women in the Tangier-Tetouan Al Hoceima region in northern Morocco.
According to the new data, released earlier this week, about 9 girls and women out of 10 have experienced at least one form of violence in the region.
The number is equivalent to 1 million and 219,000 out of 1 million and 380, 000 girls and women aged between 15 and 74.
The percentage of women and girls who were subject to at least one type of violence is estimated to be 88.3%, compared to a national average of 82.6 %.
The HCP directorate for northern Morocco explained that its report on violence in the Tangier-Tetouan Al Hoceima region is part a larger study titled the “Second National Research on Violence against Women and Men in Morocco” carried out in 2019.
The study aimed to comprehensively address the phenomenon of gender-based violence, including its spread, forms, contexts, repercussions, among others.
The research was carried out between February and July 2019, and included people aged between 15 and 74 years.
It found that violence against women is slightly higher in urban areas (90.8 % compared to 83.1 % at the national level) than in rural areas (83.9 % compared to 81.6 % at the national level).
The data also revealed that psychological violence remains the most prevalent, with 83.2 % compared to physical violence (38.6 %) and sexual violence (29.9 %).
During the 12 months preceding the completion of the research, 849,000 girls and women in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region were victims of violent behavior of different forms.
Women in urban areas are considered more exposed to violence than rural women, the data showed.
Psychological violence remains the most common (719,000 cases / 52.1%), with a relative increase in the urban center (56.2 % ) compared to in rural areas (44.7 %).
In a similar report published this year in October, the High Commission for Planning emphasized that more work needs to be done to tackle violence against women in Morocco.
The report noted that economic and sexual violence significantly increased, moving from 8% to 15% and from 9% to 14% respectively between 2009 and 2019.
At least 57% of Moroccan women reported to have experienced some form of violence last year, the study established, concluding that the country still has a relatively long way to go in terms of gender equality and gendered violence.
