Moroccan Prosecution sounds the alarm: 9 Children face sexual assaults daily
The Moroccan General Prosecution has sounded the alarm regarding the reality of sexual assaults on children and the negative repercussions it has.
This was stated by Hassan Dakki, the Attorney General of the King at the Court of Cassation and the Head of the General Prosecution, during a workshop on the topic of “Mechanisms for Caring for Children Victims of Sexual Assaults in the Light of National Judicial Action and the Principles of the Lanzarote Convention.”
Sounding the Alarm
The Moroccan judicial official revealed that the recorded sexual assaults on children in Morocco reached 9 sexual assaults per day in 2022.
He emphasized that this situation requires sounding the alarm about the growth of this phenomenon, which has psychological and social consequences for children and their families.
He explained that various public prosecutions recorded 3,295 cases of sexual assault against children in the year 2022, representing more than 41% of the total crimes of violence committed against children in the kingdom.
Dakki confirmed that “the General Prosecution has initiated many rounds of communication with the public prosecutions in various courts of the kingdom, which included directives urging them to enhance the legal protection of children from all forms of violence, exploitation, and abuse, while ensuring the strict enforcement of the law against the perpetrators of these crimes and guaranteeing that they are not exempted from punishment.”
He stated that “the General Prosecution has continually given special attention to cases of sexual assaults against children, in all its forms, and includes them in its strategic programs, sparing no effort to harness all available resources to provide the necessary protection for children from all forms of exploitation.”
Dakki revealed that the General Prosecution is in the process of preparing a guide for listening to children “in compliance with the law, including children who are victims of assaults, explaining the necessary techniques for listening to children to safeguard their best interests.”
“Taking into account the fragility of their psychological and emotional state and avoiding causing them harm through confrontations with the offenders or through official judicial procedures that do not suit their young age,” the guide provides “a framework for how to utilize remote communication methods and other digital tools to achieve these goals.”
Severe Consequences
He stressed the importance of providing special care for abused children and closely monitoring their physical, psychological, family, and social status.
In this regard, he said, “Do not underestimate the severe consequences of sexual assaults on the psyche of the child victim and on their proper growth, the repercussions of which may extend throughout their lives if they do not receive early and rapid treatment. A victim today may become a patient or a criminal and offender in the future.”
He added, “This is where the role of the cells for the care of women and children in the public prosecutions at the courts comes into play, with all their components working to provide support, assistance, and accompaniment for child victims of sexual assaults, receiving them in conditions that suit their privacy and taking care to provide the necessary services for them to facilitate their access to a friendly justice.”
The Attorney General stated that providing legal protection for children from various forms of assault, especially sexual ones, has become a problem that “worries families and parents due to their fear for the safety of their children from the hands of deviants who do not hesitate to harm children and exploit them.”
He emphasized that the modern technological developments and the significant expansion in the use of the internet and digital tools are exploited by criminals to lure child victims and sexually exploit them wherever they are found, robbing them of their innocence in a ruthless manner.
