Survey Reveals 57% of Moroccan Women Face Violence, Urban Areas Most Affected

It is within the framework of the national and international mobilization campaign for the elimination of violence against women that the HCP has unveiled this report. The prevalence rate in urban areas is 58% compared to 55% in rural areas. The survey also revealed that the prevalence of psychological and physical violence has respectively decreased by nearly 9 points, from 58% to 49%, and by 2 points, from 15% to 13%.

On the other hand, economic and sexual violence have increased by nearly 7 points to 15% and 5 points to 14% respectively. Apart from the violence in public and in the educational environment, which has seen a decrease of 20% and 14% respectively, domestic violence and that observed within the family are on the rise.

The survey had the merit of revealing another form of violence. This is cyber-violence, which affects nearly 1.5 million women in Morocco. It was born with the development of new information and communication technologies and the expansion of social networks. With a prevalence of 14%, it manifests itself through emails, phone calls, SMS and others. This type of violence is more prevalent among city dwellers, especially women aged 15 to 19.

The survey stressed that women are increasingly refusing to be silent victims. Even if the number is low, many of them are filing complaints with the police. A huge advance when we know that in Morocco, conflict resolution by consent, family intervention, fear of retaliation from the perpetrator of violence, a sense of shame or embarrassment, especially in cases of sexual violence, are declared as the main reasons preventing victims from making themselves known to the authorities.