Study Reveals Widespread Sexual Violence Against Actresses in Moroccan Film Industry

80% of the Moroccan actresses surveyed report having been victims or witnesses of at least one case of gender-based violence in their profession, according to this study carried out by the Association of Mediterranean Meetings of Cinema and Human Rights (ARMCDH). They suffer from several forms of violence: psychological violence, economic violence, sexual violence. Regarding sexual violence, the actresses have particularly described it as the main form of violence. The youngest actresses are often the most exposed to sexual blackmail, sexual innuendos or touching.

Economic and physical violence affects women in all professions related to the film industry in Morocco, the study specifies. On the other hand, psychological and sexual violence mainly concerns the most vulnerable people, such as young women at the beginning of their professional careers and professionals in a situation of economic precariousness. The analysis of the interview results shows that psychological violence was mentioned 10 times as the main form of prevalent violence in the Moroccan film industry, followed by economic violence (common practices exercised by hierarchical superiors lacking transparency in the allocation of tasks), then by sexual violence.

The respondents justify the proliferation of psychological violence by the difficulty of proving its existence and by the reasons given by the perpetrators of this violence (high demands of the profession, need for total commitment, low involvement of employees, etc.). They believe that the non-compliance with the specifications issued by the Moroccan Cinematographic Center or television channels in partnership with production companies creates conditions conducive to the emergence of gender-based violence, in particular due to working hours (often exceeding 12 hours per day) and additional tasks that are not objectively evaluated in the contracts.

Furthermore, the study shows that women are underrepresented in professional chambers, federations and unions representing technical specialists. The 12 professional associations in this sector have more than 100 executive members, of whom only 10 are women. This low representation weakens the ability of professionals to participate in collective advocacy and denunciation of gender-based violence in the Moroccan film industry.