Rape cases involving minors and women with disabilities continue to expose a gap between Morocco’s legal arsenal and court rulings often deemed too lenient. Recent verdicts have revived calls from rights activists for consistent sentencing, stronger victim protection and better access to justice.
Four men were sentenced to five years in prison by the Beni Mellal Court of First Instance for raping Hayat, a 24-year-old woman with intellectual disabilities from Aghbala, who later gave birth to a child. The victim’s lawyer has appealed the ruling, denouncing a sentence deemed too lenient given the gravity of the case.
In a new comparison derived from the Public Prosecutor's Office statistics on the implementation of criminal policy, the association Mobilizing for Rights Associates (MRA) highlights the gap between the concepts of protection and punishment. It questions this disparity in light of cases of extramarital relationships, compared to prosecutions for violence against women.