Moroccan Government Making New Efforts to Combat Sexual Assault Against Children

The Moroccan government is making new efforts to combat sexual assault against children. On the heels of a recent report on child abuse by the association "Touche pas à mon enfant" (Don't Touch My Child), the Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity is working with child protection and advocacy groups to come up with a common strategy to prevent the spread of the phenomenon.

The "Touche pas à mon enfant" report, issued May 19th, counts 306 reported cases of paedophilia across Morocco. Association President Najat Anwar said the figure points to an "alarming spread", claiming it constitutes an increase of 536% over previous years.

Anwar also suggested that sexual abuse has become "structural", due to an overlap between the tourism industry that is vital to the Moroccan economy and "related networks and criminal organisations that have made a business out of child prostitution".

Officials from the Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity met with civil society groups on June 29th to exchange ideas on how best to address the issue.

"The national policy for the protection of children depends on a joint vision between the different sides in order to create a suitable environment for the protection of childhood," said Family and Solidarity Minister Nouzha Skelli at the meeting.

She also stressed the importance of creating a "tracking cell" to oversee the implementation of the strategy and identify new directions as needed.

"The cell can [also] prepare a guide on the procedures for taking care of children who have been victims of sexual abuse," she said.

Civil society groups offered other contributions. "During the meeting, we presented several proposals... such as observance of some legal rules that are not applied in courts," Najia Adib, president of Moroccan NGO "Touche pas à mes enfants" (Don't Touch My Children), told Magharebia. "Victims don't have to attend public court hearings, which we deem another sort of violence."

She added: "We have also called for exempting the victims from paying a court fee estimated at 500 dirhams, and from paying the medical experts' fees prescribed by the court."

Another demand is the acceleration of the judicial process; there are some cases still awaiting resolution after five years.

Experts also requested that judges specialising in children's' issues be appointed, and that victims' defence attorneys be permitted to attend investigation hearings. Current law only allows the accused, his lawyer, and the victim to attend such hearings.

Adib also called for compulsory sexual education in schools, to teach children to identify suspicious treatment or behaviour.

Said Al Raji of the National Observatory for Children's Rights told Magharebia that incidents of sexual abuse are likely not increasing. Instead, he suggested that awareness and reporting are becoming more common.

"In the past, the issue was taboo," he said. "Now, people have become more aware about their rights, and the number of legal actions has increased, which gives the impression that there is an increase in the number of cases."

Khadija Al-Riyadi, President of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, advocates stricter penalties for offenders.

"In addition, we must raise and prepare children not to be victims of violence," she told Magharebia. "We also need to shed light on the phenomenon of incest."