Shocking Study: 1 in 4 Moroccans Condone Domestic Violence, Experts Blame Cultural Norms

According to this study conducted between 2016 and 2023 on a sample of more than 99,000 people spread across 39 African countries, 24% of Moroccans agree with the fact of hitting one’s wife. For 72% of respondents in general, hitting one’s spouse "is never justified", while 19% believe that it can be justified in some cases. 9% think that this violence is always justified. At the African level, 67% of Gabonese approve of this behavior, the highest rate, compared to 3% for Cape Verdeans, the lowest rate.

According to Khalid Touzani, a university professor, several factors explain the 24% rate of Moroccans approving this violence against women. The first concerns "the social and cultural heritage". "Some reports from the High Commission for Planning show that gender-based violence is linked to a mental structure perceiving women as a secondary part in family decision-making, which reveals that part of Moroccan society still believes in a traditional vision of roles attributing guardianship over women to men," he explains.

In a statement to Hespress, he warned against "the misunderstanding by some citizens of certain religious texts (such as the verse "wa-idribouhounna") without placing them in their legislative context", as well as the influence of social networks used by ideological currents to "disseminate an extremist masculinist discourse, cloaking itself in the mantle of defending values". The expert also called for a pooling of efforts to fight extremist discourse and raise awareness and help women achieve financial independence.

"This rate reflects the trivialization of violence against the wife among some husbands; they perceive it as a normal thing within the family, a means of imposing control over the partner," says Mohamed Habib, a researcher in psychology and family issues, specifying that this rate "is also explained by the existence of certain wives who accept this situation due to a lack of self-confidence, the Stockholm syndrome or attachment to the aggressor" who may suffer from psychological disorders due to "economic and social fragility".