Rabat — Morocco documented 269 human trafficking victims, with courts handing down 120 convictions in 2024. These cases reveal a stark gender divide and shifting patterns in who falls prey to traffickers.
The victims included 175 adults and 94 minors, according to a report from the Supreme Council of the Judiciary. Courts issued 169 decisions on these cases — 84 at the first instance level and 76 on appeal.
Women accounted for 64% of all victims, a pattern the judicial council attributes to their greater vulnerability to psychological, social, and economic pressures. Female victims most commonly suffered sexual exploitation.
Adults now outnumber minors among victims
The data marks a shift from previous years: adult victims now outnumber minors. The report explains that adults actively seeking employment or trying to improve their living conditions become easy targets for exploitation.
Among the 120 people convicted, 44 were women and seven were foreign nationals.
Sexual exploitation dominated all forms of trafficking crimes, resulting in 92 convictions. Illegal migration cases produced 18 convictions, while begging led to eight.
Courts recorded single convictions each for forced labor and exploitation for criminal activities or armed conflict.
No convictions occurred for slavery or slavery-like practices, organ or tissue removal or sale, or exploitation in medical research experiments.
Courts convict in just over half of cases
The criminal courts convicted defendants in 52% of human trafficking cases, acquitted them in 34%, and reclassified 14% as other crimes — including procuring for prostitution, sexual assault of a minor, and fraud.
Appeals courts upheld trafficking convictions in 43% of cases. They reclassified charges in 24%, confirmed acquittals in 20%, overturned convictions in 9%, and reversed acquittals in 4%.
The Supreme Council reported that 80% of victims came from within Morocco, while 20% came from abroad.
Breaking down the types of exploitation: 154 victims suffered sexual exploitation, 92 experienced trafficking through deception for migration purposes, 10 faced exploitation for criminal activities, eight endured forced labor, four were forced to beg, and two suffered from forced servitude.
