Violence against women decreases 25% in 2010 in Morocco

Cases of violence against women decreased 25% in 2010 compared with 2009, Social Development, Family and Solidarity Minister

Rabat - Cases of violence against women decreased 25% in 2010 compared with 2009, Social Development, Family and Solidarity Minister Nouzha Skalli said on Thursday

     In 2010, reported cases of violence against women stood at 9,524, that is a 25% drop compared to 2009, which saw 12,710 declared cases, Skalli said at a press conference quoting statistics by the national hearing center under her department''''s authority.

Skalli noted that 76% of violence cases are reported in urban centers while 12.24% in rural areas, saying that this disparity is mainly ascribed to the availability of hearing centers in cities.

     She added that 71% of all declared cases in 2010 were reported in five regions, namely Fez-Boulemane (15.5%), Doukkala-Abda (15.3%), Great Casablanca (15.2%), Meknès-Tafilalet (12.7 %), and Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz (12.3%).

    Domestic violence accounts for 74.4% of reported cases in 2010, against 79.8% last year, Skalli underlined.

    On this occasion, the Minister gave the official kick off of the 8th national campaign for combating violence against women under the theme “involving men as partners in fighting violence against women.”

MAP