HRW: Morocco failing to curb domestic abuse News
HRW: Morocco failing to curb domestic abuse

Moroccan authorites’ approach and response to domestic abuse is insufficient and “tepid” across the board [HRW report], Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said in a letter [text] to the Moroccan government on Monday. The report cites a study done by HRW in September as well as a national survey by the Moroccan High Commission for Planning that studied female victims of violence in 2009, and both show a negative trend in the protection and treatment of these victims. Police response and treatment of victims was poor, prosecutors sometimes neglected to file charges or inefficiently communicated with police and victims, and some judges were reported as having required practically impossible evidentiary requirements. There are currently three bills underway that could help reform the Moroccan government’s treatment of domestic abuse and abuse against women, but HRW also stated that some provisions of the bills may negatively impact rights.

Morocco has come under fire for human rights abuses in the past. In July a Moroccan court heard a case against two women for wearing skirts that were too tight [JURIST report], a case that received a large amount of criticism for showing discrimination, and 200 lawyers took turns defending the women. In June two Moroccan gay men were sentenced [Guardian report] to four months in prison for violating the nation’s “public modesty” law by posing too closely together in a picture. In May Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported [JURIST report] widespread torture of Moroccan prisoners at the hands of authorities, with a documented 173 cases between 2010 and 2014. The report also stated that medical care, hygiene and food are lacking in the detention cells. Last April a judge in Spain decided [JURIST report] that genocide charges against seven former and current Moroccan officials, who were accused of committing torture and killings in Western Sahara from 1975-91, were justified. In November 2014 HRW reported [JURIST report] that Moroccan authorities are interfering with the work of human rights organizations. A Moroccan court in August 2014 sentenced [JURIST report] human rights activist Ouafa Charaf to one year in prison after being convicted of falsely alleging that she had been tortured by police.