Morocco's notable efforts in protecting women’s rights and fighting against gender-based violence were highlighted on Tuesday in Strasbourg during the 26th meeting of the Gender Equality Commission of the Council of Europe.
Speaking during the meeting, Amina Oufroukhi, Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for legal and judicial professions specializing in family, women, and children’s protection, stated that the Moroccan Constitution emphasizes gender equality. She noted that Moroccan legislation criminalizes all forms of gender-based violence.
In this regard, she explained that since the Public Prosecutor's Office became independent from the executive branch in 2017, strengthening gender equality and protecting women from violence has been a priority in the implementation of criminal policy.
She also recalled that in 2018, Moroccan legislators adopted a specific law to combat violence against women (Law 103.13), which introduced several complementary protection mechanisms and new preventive measures to safeguard women and their children, when applicable. These measures include prohibiting contact with the victim, issuing restraining orders, and mandating psychological treatment for offenders.
Furthermore, Oufroukhi stated that this protection was reinforced by the introduction of mandatory services for supporting women survivors of violence. She emphasized that one of the most important elements introduced by this law is the formalization of coordination mechanisms among various stakeholders, aiming to ensure the complementarity of public and private services.
She explained that the law also tasked the Public Prosecutor’s Office with chairing coordination committees involving these stakeholders at regional and local levels. She highlighted that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has consistently worked to enhance the interventions of prosecutors to ensure that women are welcomed by special care units, facilitated access to legal aid, the adoption of effective and appropriate investigative mechanisms, and urgent protective measures for victims and their children to guarantee their safety.
Additionally, to strengthen the Public Prosecutor’s coordinating role, Oufroukhi noted that in 2020, under the Marrakech Declaration for the elimination of violence against women launched by HRH Princess Lalla Meryem, President of the National Union of Moroccan Women, the Public Prosecutor’s Office developed a territorial protocol for supporting women victims of violence.
This protocol aims to ensure better convergence of sectoral services to provide effective support to women victims of violence, alleviate their suffering, and guide them toward economic and social autonomy, she said.
It also seeks to standardize service quality across all regions of the Kingdom and combat societal stereotypes that still tolerate violence, especially domestic violence. Indeed, Oufroukhi pointed out, statistics show that more than half of the cases handled involve domestic violence.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office also organizes ongoing training programs for prosecutors to keep them informed of developments in this field, in collaboration with international partners, particularly the Council of Europe, she noted.
Consequently, Oufroukhi confirmed that the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Council of Europe have agreed to continue their successful and impactful partnership within the framework of the MA-JUST program.
The Moroccan delegation participating in this meeting also included Mohamed Oukhlifa, Head of the Department of Cooperation and Partnerships at the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
