Moroccan Women’s Groups Demand Action as Domestic Violence Surges During Lockdown

In an open letter addressed to several ministers and reported by AFP, these associations believe that the home, which should be a safe haven, has become "the most dangerous place" for Moroccan women. These associations are also concerned about the increase in the rate of this violence, which would be linked to the tensions observed within households and economic difficulties.

Ruling on specific cases, the NGOs recalled the cases of husbands who "abuse the confinement by putting psychological pressure and exerting physical constraint to force their wives to give up their rights". To these cases are added those of husbands who had abandoned the marital home and return "for the needs of confinement, in order to take revenge on their wives and children".

Faced with the economic insecurity caused by the pandemic, some of these women become financially dependent on their tormentor against their will. Added to this is the increased vulnerability of these women linked to mobility restrictions and the risk that the authorities will be "overwhelmed and diverted by the response to the pandemic".

According to official statistics, more than one in two women has been a victim of some form of violence in Morocco in 2019. For the first time, a law against violence against women came into force in 2018, now making acts "considered as forms of harassment or ill-treatment" punishable by prison sentences.