VZCZCXRO6606
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHRB #1868/01 3541126
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201126Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7922
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 3776

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 001868 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/WI, DRL, MEPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN MO PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: MOROCCO: TAKING STEPS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
 
¶1.  Summary: Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi launched the Fifth 
National Campaign to Eliminate Violence against Women on 
November 30 in Rabat, marking the International Day for the 
Elimination of Violence against Women.  For the first time, 
the Government of Morocco (GOM) released official statistics 
on domestic violence, having documented more than 17,000 
incidents in 2006-2007.  This year, the two week campaign was 
built around the theme of "Mobilizing Youth in the Fight 
against Violence on Women."  The Ministry of Social 
Development Family and Solidarity is in the lead.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  The GOM's anti-violence publicity campaign was conducted 
from November 30 until December 17, and included a variety of 
TV and radio spots.   A "sensitivity caravan" was organized 
in collaboration with the UNFPA and the Canadian 
International Development Agency and distributed information 
during multi-media presentations in eight cities (Rabat, 
Casablanca, Fez, Beni Mellal, Oujda, Marrakech, Safi, and 
Ouarzazate.) Two days were dedicated to public awareness 
raising of the problem with roundtables for youth organized 
in coordination with local associations and regional 
educational and training academies in Fez, Casablanca, and 
Marrakech. 
 
¶3.  In his opening remarks, PM El Fassi announced the launch 
of a National Observatory to Eliminate Violence Against Women 
to act as a coordination mechanism for governmental and 
non-governmental institutions working to assist female 
victims of violence.  El Fassi also announced that his 
government will table two substantial reforms, a bill that 
will criminalize domestic violence (already pending before 
Parliament) and another that will address the illegal 
practice of employing underage girls as child domestic 
servants. 
 
¶4.  During the November 30 event, the Ministry of Social 
Development, Families, and Solidarity reported that marital 
violence, a category that includes all forms of physical, 
sexual, economic, and psychological violence by the husband, 
accounted for 82 percent of the 17,511 reported cases of 
violence from 2006 to 2007.  This is the first time that 
official numbers on violence against women have been 
published.  Other statistics put forth during the conference 
show that 44 percent of Moroccan women who are victims of 
violence are between 18 and 24 years old, and 35 percent are 
between 25 and 34 years old.  About three-fourths of the 
victims are housewives.  Fifty-eight percent of people filing 
complaints said they had been victims of violence for several 
months and 37 percent said they have been victims for many 
years. 
 
¶5.  One week prior to the launching of the National Campaign, 
a women's NGO, the Democratic League of Women's Rights 
(LDDH), published a report on the first half of 2007 which 
stated that over 96 percent of the cases of violence against 
women were committed by a close relative.  It showed that 
housewives comprised 57 percent of registered victims of 
violence, and that 88 percent of the battered women were 
between the ages of 18 and 48.  The report also indicated 
that what it termed economic violence (the failure to meet 
familial or child support financial obligations), represented 
37.31 percent of the cases, while physical violence ranked 
second at 22.75 percent.  (Note: Governmental and 
non-governmental agencies are working to resolve 
discrepancies in the statistics. End Note.) 
 
¶6.  Clinical Psychologist Nadia Cherkaoui said that the level 
of tolerance for violence against women in Morocco remains 
extremely high.  She explained that in most cases women seek 
help only when their lives or those of their children are 
threatened.  This means that the majority of incidents are 
un-reported. 
 
¶7.  Long considered a culturally taboo subject, the GOM only 
began addressing violence against women publicly (albeit 
timidly) in 1998.  In 2001, the Ministry of Social 
Development, Families, and Solidarity began to develop a 
national anti-violence strategy in collaboration with civil 
society and with support from UNFPA, UNIFEM and the UNDP. 
The collaboration helped usher in reforms such as the revised 
family code and the creation of abuse assistance centers. 
New Minister of Social Development, Families, and Solidarity, 
Nouzha Skalli has said that combating violence against women 
is her top priority, but she and her Ministry are hampered by 
a lack of financial and technical resources. 
 
¶8.  In addition to Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, a number of 
senior members of the government attended the conference. 
Among them were Minister of Labor and Professional Training 
 
RABAT 00001868  002 OF 002 
 
 
Jamal Aghmani, Minister of National Education Ahmed 
Akhchichine, Minister Delegate of Modernizing the Public 
Sector Mohammed Abbou, and a representative of the Royal 
Gendarmerie.  Over a dozen Human Rights and Women's NGOs were 
also represented, including Union Action Feminine (UAF), 
Association Marocaine des Droits de l'Homme (AMDH), and 
Association Marocaine des Droits de la Femme (ADFM). 
 
¶9.  Comment: Violence against women represents the most 
visible evidence of the continuing struggle for gender 
equality in Morocco.  The GOM appears to be addressing it in 
a sincere and constructive fashion, but is hampered by a lack 
of resources, an outmoded legal system and lagging social 
attitudes about the role of women in society.  We believe the 
issue of domestic violence in Morocco offers significant 
potential programming opportunities for DRL and MEPI funds. 
End Comment. 
 
 
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Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat 
***************************************** 
 
Jackson