Sexual violence against migrant women in Morocco

Sub-Saharan migrant women have endured various forms of sexual violence in their countries of origin and on their way to Europe. Many are forced to leave their homes because of violence related to conflict or to escape forced marriages or domestic violence. They face further abuse and sexual violence on their journey northward and in Morocco and are frequently subjected to sexual exploitation in the form of prostitution. Few of them dare to speak out about what they have suffered. Médecins Sans Frontières is concerned that the information gathered by its teams constitutes only a small portion of a problem of alarming proportions that has yet to be addressed by the Moroccan authorities and the countries of the European Union.

Between 2003 and 2009, Médecins Sans Frontières carried out 27,431 consultations, of which 4,482 were lesions and traumas (16.3%). Moreover, more than 7,500 people were accompanied and referred to Moroccan health facilities in close collaboration with the country’s Ministry of Health.

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 Médecins Sans Frontières denounces the sexual violence against migrants on their way to Europe - 31-03-10 10:02