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Rabat- Several Moroccan human rights activists have called for more support for sexual abuse victims, highligting the dire need for legal reforms to protect the rights and dingity of abuse victims. “Sexual assault continues to be a taboo in Morocco,” siad Aicha Kelaa, president of the Moroccan Association for Victims’ Rights (AMDV), during a seminar in Casablanca on Wednesday.
Sexual predators often select victims who will remain silent out of fear of being judged by society or are ignorant of the law, the activist pointed out. Most abuse victims suffer in silence, a situation that is “exploited by powerful parties in order to further silence their voices,” she noted.
Earlier this year, a report by the High Commission for Planning (HCP) emphasized that more work needs to be done to tackle gender-based violence in Morocco.
The report, published in October, HCP noted that economic and sexual violence has significantly increased in Morocco, 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.
Read Also: Sexual Harassment is Widespread in Moroccan Universities
According to former minister and human rights activist Nezha Skalli, Morocco must make efforts to update the current legislation on sexual abuse. She described the current penal code as “unmodern,” arguing that it includes “outdated” values.
Globally, an estimated 736 million women—almost one in three—have been subjected to intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life, according to data compiled by UN Women. In 2018, an estimated one in seven women experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner or husband. “These numbers do not reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased risk factors for violence against women,” UN Women noted.
