Only Three Percent of Abused Women Report to Police in Morocco

Rabat - Gender-based violence (GBV) is rampant in the Middle East and North Africa, and Morocco is no exception.

Rabat – Gender-based violence (GBV) is rampant in the Middle East and North Africa, and Morocco is no exception.

One in three women in a relationship in the MENA region say that they have been subject to physical and/or sexual intimidation from their partners, and only three out of 100 abused women in Morocco turn to the authorities demanding justice.

The investigation by the UN Sustainable Development Group recounts first-hand testimonies of GBV violence, citing the emotional, mental, and physical trauma they had to endure in silence amidst a lack of trust in the judiciary system.

The shockingly low number of reported cases does not reflect an overall lack of trust in the judiciary system. It rather tells a story of how women mistrust public authorities on gender-based issues for good reason.

The UN investigation explains that police do little to bring abusers to justice. Oftentimes, police blame GBV victims and do nothing to protect them.

In 2021, Morocco’s national police department DGSN reported over 62,000 violence cases against women.

Aggravated by the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, 57% of women in Morocco reported that they were subject to at least one act of violence, according to non-governmental organizations.

According to women’s rights groups, in several instances, women reporting to police stations during the COVID-19 lockdown were told to “go back home and be patient,” and encouraged victims to drop charges.

In rural areas, local authorities refused to press charges themselves, telling women that they need to head to nearby cities to file complaints at public prosecution offices, prompting women to drop charges altogether for logistical constraints.