Speaking during the work of this meeting, Amina Oufroukhi, head of the Public Ministry specializing in legal and judicial professions and the protection of the family, women and children, indicated that the Moroccan Constitution underlines equality between the sexes, noting that Moroccan legislation criminalizes all forms of gender-based violence.
To this end, she continued, the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PMP), since its independence from the executive power in 2017, has made the strengthening of gender equality and the protection of women against violence a priority. in the implementation of penal policy.
She also recalled that in 2018, the Moroccan legislator adopted a new specific law to combat violence against women (law 103.13), which law put in place several complementary protection mechanisms, new preventive measures to protect women and their children, where applicable, such as a ban on contacting the victim, a restraining order or even an order to subject the aggressor to psychological treatment against violence.
In addition, affirmed Ms. Oufroukhi, this protection was reinforced by the adoption of compulsory services to take care of women survivors of violence, noting that one of the most important elements established by this law is the formalization of mechanisms of coordination between the different stakeholders, the objective being to guarantee the complementarity of services, whether public or private.
She explained that this law also entrusted to the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office the presidency of the coordination committees bringing together these stakeholders at the regional and local level, indicating that the PMP has constantly worked to improve the intervention of the Public Prosecutor’s Offices in order to guarantee in particular the reception of women by special care units and facilitate their access to legal aid and the adoption of effective and appropriate investigation mechanisms and the taking of urgent and necessary protection measures to protect the victims and their children and guarantee their safety.
Furthermore, and with a view to strengthening the coordination role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, she added, the PMP worked in 2020 within the framework of the Marrakech Declaration for the elimination of violence against women launched by HRH Princess Lalla Meryem, President of the National Union of Women of Morocco, to develop a territorial protocol for the care of women victims of violence.
This protocol aims to guarantee better convergence of sectoral services in order to ensure effective care for women victims of violence, to alleviate their suffering and to support them towards economic and social autonomy, she said.
It also aims to make these services conform to unified quality standards in all regions of the Kingdom and to combat stereotypical mentalities that may still tolerate violence within society, particularly when it comes to domestic violence. .
Indeed, said Ms. Oufroukhi, statistics indicate that more than half of the cases handled are linked to violence within the home.
The PMP also ensures that continuing training programs are organized for the benefit of public prosecutors, in order to keep them informed of developments in this area, as part of cooperation with international partners, in particular the Council of Europe, she indicated.
As a result, assured Ms. Oufroukhi, the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Council of Europe have decided to continue their successful partnership with a sure impact, within the framework of the MA-JUST program.
The Moroccan delegation which took part in the work of this meeting also includes Mohamed Oukhlifa, head of the Cooperation and Partnerships Department at the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
