Study: 44% of Moroccan Women Faced Domestic Violence During COVID Lockdown

According to this study, 22% of the women who were victims work in the informal sector and most of the victims were physically assaulted at their homes (59%). The study also explains that this phenomenon is explained by the cramped spaces, since 38% of the women who were victims were in homes of less than 50 square meters. The pressure exerted by distance learning has also contributed somewhat to the increase. It should be noted that the female gender played an important role in supporting children in distance education (37%), while only 8% of men participated.

The Chaml network specifies that the frequency of violence against women has not, however, pleaded in favor of the reporting of offenses. The view of society pushes women to remain silent and suffer in silence the violence of which they are victims within Moroccan society. 83% of women give up reporting the facts. Even worse, 86% of them are unaware of the law against violence against women, reports the daily Al Massae.

The same source reveals that 71% of the interviewees refrained from reporting their case because of the preventive measures taken by the authorities, as part of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Illiteracy and lack of mastery of technological means have also been obstacles for many battered women.

As for the number of women who have suffered psychological violence, it increased by 21 cases during confinement (from 145 to 164). It is followed by economic violence (114 cases instead of 84), physical violence (101 cases) and sexual violence (16 cases), the same study points out.