Footage of sexual harassment on streets of Morocco sparks fury online
Footage of sexual harassment on streets of Morocco sparks fury online
Footage of a woman being sexually harassed in broad daylight as she walks down the street in the city of Tangier has circulated widely online - prompting Moroccan women to question their safety and whether the country's laws protect them.
2 min read
Moroccan law only recently started penalising those who commit street harassment [Getty]
Sexual harassment filmed on and posted online has sparked outrage across the North African country.
The footage shows a young woman walking in broad daylight in when she was approached by two men, one filming the scene and the other lifting up her skirt and grabbing her. The duo then run away laughing.
The authorities have arrested a 15-year-old boy suspected of filming the video, according to French-languagenews sites including AFP.
Security forces are looking for the aggressor, the media reports said.
Instagram page7achak.maroc, which describes itself as being dedicated toexposing and fighting , shared news of the incident with its 38,000followers, saying the video was “irrefutable evidence provided by the aggressor himself”.
Comments left below the video by Instagram users included“makes me want to vomit” and “imagine how she must feel right now”.
The incident sparked a wider debate among Morocco’s population about safety on the streets, with many expressing dismay that women continued to be the targets of objectification and harassment.
“Despite the existence of legislation that punishes [sexual harassment], it is not severe enough hence the importance of the social media outrage, which we hope will shed light on this case and allow the victim some justice,” afeminist activist told Morocco World News.
“The perpetrator seems proud of his premeditated act. He therefore deserves for his face to be widely shared on social media, and for people to identify him and report him to competent authorities.”
Moroccan law only recently started penalising those who commit street harassment, following the passing of Law 103-13 in September 2018.
However, for the legislationto be enforced a complaint needs to be filed by the victim - a rare occurrence, as manysurvivors do not feel confident that their case will be taken seriously by the authorities.
