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Rabat – The EU’s Ambassador to Morocco, Claudia Wiedey, has expressed satisfaction with Rabat’s efforts to combat violence against women and girls.
The EU official said Morocco’s continued commitment to combat violence against women and girls is “excellent.”
The diplomat also congratulated Morocco on all its initiatives seeking to ensure gender equality. Wiedey made her remarks earlier today during a meeting in Rabat with Morocco’s Minister of Solidarity and Equality Jamila Al Moussali.
The Moroccan minister said that the meeting is part of Morocco’s national strategy that her ministry put in place to combat violence against women.
She said that the strategy was implemented according to a process based on partnership, mainly the involvement of all actors in government sectors and concerned institutions.
Denmark’s ambassador Nikolaj Harris and Belgian ambassador Marc Trenteseau also participated in the event.
The Moroccan minister said that today’s meeting was to discuss the national strategy and present it to the EU partners.
The meeting is in line with the ministry’s regular consultations with different partners seeking to resume awarness campaigns against gender discimination and violence against women and girls.
Despite considerable efforts to curb violence against women, the phenomenon remains prevalent across Morocco.
Statistics from Moroccan institutions and NGOs show alarming data regarding the increase of violence against women.
According to a 2020 report from the High Commission for Planning (HCP), 82.6% of women aged 15 to 74 in Morocco have suffered at least one act of gender-based violence.
The number includes 57.1% who suffered gender-based violence in the past 12 months.
Read also: Infographics: How Prevalent Is Violence Against Women in Morocco?
In addition to government institutions, NGOs are also increasing efforts to combat the phenomenon through the launch of awareness campaigns and platforms to help women open up about their experiences.
Moroccan NGO Tahadi Association for Equality and Citizenship (ATEC) launched “Stop Digital Violence” application to reinforce efforts coutering online violence against women in Morocco.
The association explained to Morocco World News that their aim is to help women all over Morocco to file complaints against violence perpertratores.
“It is also for women who do not prefer to come to the headquarters personally to speak about their cases. They can download the app and file their complaint, which we will deal with while preserving the secrecy of the victim’s file,” the association’s president Bouchra Abdou explained to MWN.
