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Rabat – Morocco’s Public Prosecutor office received over 96,000 complaints related to violence against women in 2021, the latest annual report from the Presidency of the Public Prosecution said.
The number is a nearly 50% increase from 2020, which saw 64,251 complaints, added the same report.
Nearly 34,000 cases concerned violence that resulted in the victim becoming “indisposed for less than 20 days,” and almost 16,000 cases accused the perpetrator of “neglecting the family.”
Rape, sexual assault, and gender-based discrimination were among the least reported crimes, though that can be partly attributed to the social stigma surrounding victims who report crimes of that nature.
The past year saw several high-profile cases of sexual abuse in Morocco, beginning with a “sex for grades” scandal which saw professors extort female students for sex acts in exchange for good grades.
When several Moroccan women accused French businessman Jacques Bouthier of sexual harassment in June, they also said that there are more victims who did not want to jeopardize their safety or careers therefore they chose to stay silent.
The vast majority of cases, more than 47,000, were perpetrated by someone not related to the victim. Meanwhile, nearly 38,000 were perpetrated by the victim’s husband.
Several experts and observers have called attention to the persisting inadequacies concerning women’s rights in Morocco. In December, Moroccan scholar Moha Ennaji said that violence against women “did not decrease” despite progress in the laws protecting women since 2011.
Some maintain that large-scale social, political, and legal changes will have to come into effect before women in the country see notable improvements. Scholar of cultural studies Fatima Sadiqi called for creating a “women-friendly” environment.
