(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MAY 7 - The latest case of sexual abuse
against a little girl, Sidi Kacem, who was abducted, raped and
killed, sparked a wave of protests across Morocco with a
demonstration in Casablanca which saw thousands of people march
through the four kilometers of the Corniche.
The country was shocked by violence against Wiam who was disfigured and then hit twenty times with an axe after she was abused. Violence against minors is a national plague, with a variety of abuses including little girls used as slaves for domestic work by the wealthy. Protesters in Casablanca did not only include members of associations protecting the rights of minors and women but many members of civil society, members of the country's cultural, artistic and sports elite, such as Aziz Bouderbala, a former Moroccan soccer star who marched alongside actors, singers, filmmakers, writers and DJs.
Demonstrators asked authorities to pass harsher measures against abusers as Moroccan laws often don't respect victims enough. Rapists for example can be freed of charges if they marry the woman they raped, often forced by her family to accept to save her honour.
A recent television documentary by Spanish reporters recently showed that the prostitution of minors attracts many tourists from abroad, mostly Europe and North America. (ANSAmed)
The country was shocked by violence against Wiam who was disfigured and then hit twenty times with an axe after she was abused. Violence against minors is a national plague, with a variety of abuses including little girls used as slaves for domestic work by the wealthy. Protesters in Casablanca did not only include members of associations protecting the rights of minors and women but many members of civil society, members of the country's cultural, artistic and sports elite, such as Aziz Bouderbala, a former Moroccan soccer star who marched alongside actors, singers, filmmakers, writers and DJs.
Demonstrators asked authorities to pass harsher measures against abusers as Moroccan laws often don't respect victims enough. Rapists for example can be freed of charges if they marry the woman they raped, often forced by her family to accept to save her honour.
A recent television documentary by Spanish reporters recently showed that the prostitution of minors attracts many tourists from abroad, mostly Europe and North America. (ANSAmed)
