Alarming Study Reveals Widespread Sexual Harassment in Moroccan Schools

In its 2019 study called "National Student Achievement Evaluation Program (PNEA) of 6th grade primary and 3rd year middle school students", the council evaluated the achievements, integrating the family and socioeconomic contexts of the students, the teaching practices of the teachers, the management style of the school principals and the school climate as well as their effect on student performance.

The survey conducted on a sample of more than 36,000 primary and secondary school students revealed that while 9% of primary school students and 17% of middle school students claim to be victims of sexual harassment from their peers, 8% and 13% of them respectively report being sexually harassed by their teachers, compared to 7% and 11% by administrative staff.

For the council, "the sexual harassment of a child violates the dignity of the victim who feels humiliated and objectified, which by nature leads to traumatizing, disrupting and compromising their cognitive, psychological and social development".

And to add that "the phenomenon is more widespread in middle school than in primary school. It attests to a deviance from the norm and constitutes an extremely condemnable act when it occurs in an educational institution and affects children".

As for the impact of this scourge on the performance of 6th grade students, the report indicated that the average of students exposed to sexual harassment is around 13 to 19 points, depending on the subjects, while that of those less exposed is around (250). The same observation in middle school.