Rabat – Following many “sex for grades” scandals in Moroccan universities in recent weeks, the presidency of Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tetouan has launched a free phone number and an email address to protect and support students victims of sexual harassment.
The presidency, which is in charge of higher education institutions in Tangier, said in a statement, “The university guarantees to protect the identity of complainants and witnesses.”
The initiative comes a week after 12 students – the victim and 11 witnesses – filed a complaint against one of the professors from the Spanish department at King Fahd School of Translation in Tangier.
The accused professor is reported to have shown pornographic videos to the student, who recorded the professor’s advances to seek justice. The professor, who is now subject to a judicial investigation, has also been suspended from work for the time being.
Many female students are breaking their silence and recounting shocking harassment experiences that are prevalent in Moroccan educational institutions.
Several organizations are calling for stronger judicial measures against professors involved in similar acts. Accused professors abuse their authority, blackmail students to engage in intimate discussions, and ask for sexual demands in exchange for grades.
The Federal League for Women’s Rights in Rabat (FLDDF) launched a campaign to raise awareness about sexual harassment within universities under the hashtag #Hta_ana_baraka_harcelement_universite – Me too Stop Harassment University -.
With other similar cases breaking at Morocco’s National School of Business and Management (ENCG) in Oujda and Hassan I University of Settat, current students and alumni are urging the Ministry of Higher Education to reinforce the necessary measures to curb sexual harassment and sextortion.
Amid the outcry, Minister of Higher Education Abdellatif Miraoui announced last week that his ministry has set up a committee to investigate the offensive sexual advances of professors in Moroccan schools.
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