#Morocco #sexualturism #pedophilia #pedocriminality
Morocco may join the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 2015, but several child rights organizations are sounding the alarm regarding child exploitation and child prostitution.
Starting in March 2015, Morocco will be part of the 194 countries monitoring the application of the UN International Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, in 2011, the country received an unfavorable report from US authorities regarding human trafficking. Has it made that much progress in four years? Numerous associations are sounding the alarm about neglected street children, widespread abuse in orphanages, and a growing rate of child prostitution. Knack.be looked into what hides behind the idyllic image of a Morocco made of beaches, sun, and palm trees.
Nestled between the sea and the majestic Atlas Mountains, the city of Agadir has transformed in recent years into a top-tier tourist destination. While this is good for the local economy, this expansion has a dark side. It seems the city has become a popular destination for sex tourism, with street children as the main victims. Child prostitution has become commonplace there, according to Abdelkhalek Benzekri, vice-president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), which has over 100 offices, including some in Belgium, Spain, and France. « Every day, we receive reports of pedophilia. Especially in cities like Marrakech and Agadir. Of course, the phenomenon now has media attention, which makes it more visible. But in most cases we observe, we primarily see an increase in child prostitution. »
Agadir, Marrakech, Tangier, Casablanca, Meknes. All of Morocco’s major cities seem affected by the phenomenon and have a reputation as a paradise for pedophiles. The question remains: why? According to Benzekri, poverty is the main culprit. « Morocco has many large families. Some do not have the means to raise so many children. They are then abandoned to their fate, and it is not surprising to see them turn to prostitution. Some parents do not hesitate to incite their own children into prostitution.«
Mohamed El Khalfioui, a political scientist at ULB and a specialist on Morocco, confirms that some parents push their children into prostitution. « Poverty drives some families to turn to prostitution as a means of subsistence. I think they know it’s not a good thing, but ultimately it allows them to feed their family. »
Putting children to work from a very young age often seems to be the only solution for poor families. Even though child labor is legally prohibited, it seems very difficult to reduce the numbers. According to 2011 Save the Children statistics, there were 366,943 children aged 5 to 14 working.
« Boys mainly work as apprentices in the handicraft and construction sectors. For girls, the situation is often even more difficult because they are primarily employed as live-in maids and can almost never leave the house. They are often beaten and regularly work more than 20 hours a day. Not to mention that most are raped by their employer, » according to Abdelkhalek Benzekri.
According to the UNICEF child rights organization, Casablanca has no fewer than 13,500 maids under the age of fifteen. The organization End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) estimates that the number of young victims of sexual exploitation in Morocco’s largest city amounts to 10,000 children.
State entities are trying to limit the phenomenon by harmonizing Moroccan laws with international laws. Yet, nothing seems to curb the phenomenon, which grows in scale every year, even if official figures don’t truly exist.
« Unfortunately, for the state, sex is a way to attract tourists.«
For Benzekri, it is the attitude of the State itself that could be making the problem persist. « The State regularly turns a blind eye to the violation of human rights. The same goes for child prostitution. The tourism sector is the second largest in the country and represents a significant source of income. They seek to attract tourists in every way possible. And unfortunately, sex tourism is part of that.«
Le Vif Express, 2022