With the rapid technological advances comes an uninvited guest: the proliferation of cybercrime. From cyberbullying to sextortion, new crime names are being continuously added to an already long list.
Developing countries, such as Morocco, are no exception in this regard. Rather, they are the hardest hit by cybercrime because they use innovative technology but, mostly, fail to provide the necessary protection for one of the most vulnerable social categories in the virtual world: women.
Since time immemorial, women have always been the victims of violence, whether in the household, in the workplace, or in the streets. To add insult to injury, social media is now gifting women with a new form of violence called digital violence.
Women are facing hate speech, slandering and other numerous forms of violence and harassment on social platforms and little is being done to make social networks safer. However, the Kingdom of Morocco is making great strides to counter this web-generated phenomenon and shield women from it.
According to recent figures by the High Planning Commission (HCP), more than 13.8% of women in Morocco were victims of digital violence, which means over 1.5 million female internet users. Most of the culprits are men (86.2%).
To monitor this issue, Morocco established some mechanisms to protect women and girls against this plague, such as the creation by the national police (DGSN) of specialized cells tasked with dealing with digital violence and cybercrimes, namely the BFC (Brigade Préfectorale Criminelle).
Besides, the DGSN created a Cybercrime Control Division to ensure virtual security and set up 29 squads specializing in the fight against cybercrime, in addition to the anti-cybercrime office.
For the legal side and after years of heated debates, the parliament passed law 103.13, which was subsequently published in 2018. The law defines violence against women as “any act based on gender discrimination that causes physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm to a woman.” This law stipulates that whoever recorded, posted or spread private information or pictures on the internet without the prior consent of the party concerned had committed an offense punishable by prison terms ranging from six months to three years, and fines of up to 20,000 MAD.
In this regard, the country launched on Friday an awareness-raising campaign on digital violence against women and girls (Nov.25-Dec.10). The nationwide event is initiated in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Canadian Embassy in Morocco, under the theme “All for a safe digital space for women and girls”.
During this meeting, Minister of Social Integration Aawatif Hayar presented the Kingdom’s actions meant to fight digital violence against women, such as cells and drop-in centers in several public administrations as courts, health and youth institutions, police services and the Royal Gendarmerie.
These women-friendly structures provide multidisciplinary services such as psychological support, professional integration, treatments, mediation, accommodation, and food.
The ministry launched the hashtag #mansektouch on social media to raise awareness about this pressing issue and encourage all female victims of this new kind of violence to lodge complaints against the harassers.
The Minister highlighted other measures taken to fight digital violence against women and girls, such as the creation of 82 reception centers all over the kingdom, the training of 10,000 social workers by 2030, as well as the integration of women from all walks of life in “Tamkine” program and “Jisr” Strategy to empower them and enable them gain access to the job market.
This awareness-raising campaign coincides with the celebration of the UNITE program, a UN-led campaign launched in violence against women, as well as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (Nov. 25).