Half of Moroccan women experienced violence

A survey conducted by the Ministry of family, solidarity, equality and social development in Morocco, revealed that nearly 54.4% of women have experienced violence, with the highest rates recorded among married women. The study which covered some 13543 women aged 18 to 64 years from all over the North African country between January and March 2019, showed that violations took various forms, but that the most widespread being psychological violence, followed by economic, physical and sexual abuse. The findings of the second national survey published 10 years after the first one, has pointed to several forms of abuse, including rape, physical assaults, denial of education, dismissal from work, wage discrimination and deprivation of inheritance. It showed that women aged between 25 and 29 years, were the most vulnerable (59.8%). According to the study, around 12.4% of women have suffered at least one case of violence, noting that the rate of prevalence of e-violence, including sexual harassment, blackmailing, extortion and defamation on social media recorded 13.4%. The study also pointed out that nearly 93.4% of female violence victims prefer to keep silent, while widows and divorced women were more likely to report violence incidents against them. To recall, the Moroccan Legislature has approved last year a bill to combat violence against women. (c.f: https://bit.ly/2JpoHFh ). (An Nahar, May 16, 2019)