Think of Morocco and you think of palaces, bustling souks and age-old traditions. But the postcard image hides a darker reality: the country is a magnet for paedophiles and sex tourists. Across the country, hundred of thousands are being exploited under the gaze of their pimps. Ours reporters took secret footage of this hellish world where men, women and children are all for sale.
Legislation against child sex tourism in MOROCCO
Penalties relating to sex offences and crime against children in the country
- for the sex exploiter (customer)
Age of child | Type of sexual offence/crime | Penalty |
Under 15 years | Art. 484 of the Penal Code Indecent acts perpetrated or attempted without violence | 2 - 5 years of imprisonment |
| Under 15 years | Art. 485 of the Penal Code Indecent acts perpetrated or attempted with violence | 10 - 20 years of imprisonment |
| Females under 15 years | Art. 486 of the Penal Code Perpetration or rape | 10 - 20 years of imprisonment |
| Females under 15 years | Art. 485 and 486 of the Penal Code Loss of virginity because of perpetration or rape | 20 - 30 years of imprisonment |
- for the procurer or trafficker who procures, seduces or traffics another person for prostitution
Age of child | Type of sexual offence/crime | Penalty |
| Under 18 years | Art. 497 of the Penal Code Whoever incites, encourages or facilitates the debauchery or corruption of minors | 2 - 5 years of imprisonment A fine of dirhams 120 - 5.000 |
Child prostitution and the spread of AIDS
There are at least 13 million children in Morocco, most of whom must make a living any way they can to help support their families, including prostitution.
The Moroccan AIDS Service Organization began a study to gather information regarding the habits of male prostitutes in hopes of recommending a preventative methods program. The study revealed that male prostitutes had little or no awareness of the dangers of HIV and had no skills sets with which to bargain with their clients for safe sex. Although a program educating people about the disease and the prevention of it was established as a result of the study, efforts are hampered because local police consider the possession of condoms as proof of illegal prostitution and, thus, many prostitutes are reluctant to carry the prophylactics with them.
The Sale Of Children, Child Prostitution
Concerning the prostitution of boys; the primary reason for boys entering prostitution has to do with their being sent by their families, or choosing for themselves, to leave their homes to seek employment. On the prostitution of girls, unlike boys, it is not culturally acceptable for girls to live on the street. Many of the girls who work in the brothels in El Hajeb are former child maids. With regard to child sex tourism, child sex abuse is largely carried out by Moroccans and that there have been few reported cases where children have been used in prostitution for foreigners. The authorities acknowledged, however, that this type of abuse is very hidden and that such cases would rarely come to their attention.
Looking Back Thinking Forward
Child sex tourism is most apparent in Morocco and Egypt. In cities like Cairo, Alexandria, Marrakech and Casablanca and other tourist areas, there is now a relation between tourism and the growth in the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Girls and boys, who work as domestics and street vendors are targeted by child sex tourists. The Moroccan NGO, Association Bayti reports that the profile of sexual exploiters of children is changing in Essaouira, Marakesh and Agadir. Westerners now account for the bulk of the exploiters as opposed to people from the Middle East. Furthermore, boy prostitution is reported to be a growing phenomenon in Morocco.
Sex tourism in the Maghreb or the persistence of underdevelopment...
Thirty years ago, a young Tunisian filmmaker made a black-and-white short film with the revealing title: “Forbidden Thresholds” – “al-Atabat al-Mamnu3a” – by Ridha Behi…
This film was about the first effects of mass tourism. At that time, Tunisia, just like Morocco, focused its development on the desires of Western European citizens who wanted to pay a low price for a change of scenery… One of these citizens, a young girl with no knowledge of the host country’s culture, entered the minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, the fourth holiest city for Sunni Muslims…
Unfortunately, this girl was followed on the run by a postcards seller who could not stand his sexual deprivation in front of “this exposed flesh”. And right there, in the minaret, he attempted to rape her; a crime for which he was sentenced to death…
The film director illustrated this story with more general terms in his feature film “Sun of the Hyenas” (1976) – “Shams al-Dhiba3” -, the filming of which was banned in Tunisia, to be conducted in Morocco instead…
Another Tunisian filmmaker, Nouri Bouzid, tackled the issue of sex tourism in his film “Bezness” (Baznâs) (1992), but from a different angle compared to Behi’s film. The movie was about the journey of a gigolo who was ready to sell his body to both male and female tourists…
The vision of a young man attracted to the charms of a female tourist, and that of a young man ready to sell himself to male and female tourists, are two complementary visions…
It’s not the Maghreb’s “underdevelopment” alone that fuels sex tourism in Tunisia and Morocco, there is also the need for the Other… Both partners in this practice are equally responsible, with the only difference being that for one side, it’s a solution to social misery; and for the other, it’s a palliative for sexual misery…
For both sides, it’s a matter of misery with different degrees…
This situation leads to creating a market of sentiments… Several cases were exposed in Morocco and Tunisia, where the authorities stopped a sex trade…
If in Morocco, the enclave of Ceuta and Melilla or the shores of Spain can be a haven for this sex market, besides what Marrakech has to offer; Hammamet and even Sousse in Tunisia were repeatedly the scenes where old European tourists (men and women) were murdered by young Tunisians, to whom the promise of being rescued from social deprivation was not honored, either because of emotional exhaustion or for being replaced by another elected immigrant.
In all cases, even if sex tourism is not as obvious in the Maghreb as it is in some Asian countries, many European pensioners find the region to be a haven to satisfy their needs, taking advantage of Europe’s mirage effect, the exchange rate of the Euro into Moroccan Dirhams or Tunisian Dinars, in addition to the myth of the sexual vigor of the southern Mediterranean countries…
Sex tourism is only a manifestation of the development gap that separates the two shores of the Mediterranean…
New report addresses causes of sex tourism in Morocco
The International Coalition for Responsible and Respectful Tourism published a report on the resurgence of Morocco's sex tourism industry, uncovering numerous causes of the phenomenon and proposing solutions.
The report, compiled by coalition goodwill ambassador Khalid Semmouni, indicates close links between sex tourism, globalisation and the opening of borders, adding that people are attracted by what they perceived as exotic.
Poverty and exclusion are also among the causes, and have contributed to the prevalence of prostitution in Morocco.
Other causes cited by the report include the violation of children’s socio-economic rights; a lack of public education on sex and human rights, especially for children; the disintegration of family structures; domestic abuse and a lack of responsibility on the part of schools.
The report also mentioned the lenience of Morocco's legislation on child rape and the lack of a national action plan to protect children from violence.
It states that sex tourism is in violation of existing international agreements which Morocco has ratified, namely the 1949 Convention against the sexual exploitation of women, CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women) and the Convention on Child Rights.
The report also points to legal gaps and loopholes and proposes that the Penal Code be strengthened to more effectively counter the sexual abuse of women and children.
The solutions put forward include the adoption of adapted legislation to bolster children's protections, the use of media to inform the public and alert families to the dangers of prostitution and the sex trade's impact on society, and also the organisation of trainings for members of the judiciary to guarantee faster responses to young people's needs.
Semmouni told "this problem also exists in other Arab countries, but it is much more severe in Morocco, since this country is open to the West and also due to its geographical position." Semmouni proposed that all tourists found guilty of paedophilia in Morocco should be banned from returning. He also advocated the creation of a vice squad to monitor tourist activity from a distance and intervene where necessary.
Najat Anwar, president of the NGO "Don’t Touch My Child", told: "We need to establish a partnership with international NGOs and authorities such as ECPAT and INTERPOL to detect, condemn and prevent harm to Moroccan children by criminal tourists who travel to our country to satisfy their desires." She added that "at the national level, our association has found that foreign paedophiles no longer enjoy the 'tourist immunity' they once had, and are just as liable to be punished as Moroccan paedophiles."
Despite far-reaching government efforts, including the creation of tourism police in Marrakesh in 1994 and the conviction of over 40 tourists for paedophilia and prostitution offences since 2001, human rights activists in the country insist that Morocco still has a long way to go to eradicate the problem.
Child Sex Tourism in Morocco
An off-the-cuff remark by a former French education minister has thrown the spotlight onto sexual tourism in Morocco. In the France 24 Debate, an exclusive report is brought from Marrakesh on the youths who fall prey out of economic necessity.
WATCH VIDEO (PART ONE)
WATCH VIDEO (PART TWO)
Child-sex tourism debated in The Network
From Thailand to Cuba, Brazil to Morocco, sex-tourism is lucrative. Websites hawk erotic escapes while authorities in impoverished lands are tempted to look the other way despite occasional high-profile arrests of tourists preying on minors.
Paris prosecutor probes former minister's paedophile orgy claims
Luc Ferry's allegations have caused a stormImage Canal +
Source (RFI)
Prosecutors in Paris have opened an inquiry into allegations that a former French minister was caught sexually abusing young boys at an orgy in Morocco.
Police child protection officers are to investigate, after another former minister made extraordinary claims on French television on Monday, triggering more debate over whether politicians are protected by their colleagues and the press.
DOSSIER: THE STRAUSS-KAHN AFFAIR ROCKS FRANCE, IMF
During a chat show on Canal Plus on Monday, philosopher and former education minister Luc Ferry talked of another former French minister who he said had been caught sexually abusing young boys in Marrakesh.
"There's this story about a former minister who got caught at an orgy with little boys in Marrakesh," he said, before adding "We all know who I'm talking about."
Ferry did not name the alleged paedophile, but said the case was known about "at the highest levels of state", and that French officials worked with Morocco to hush up the scandal and ensure the minister returned safely.
Appearing on TV to discuss issues arising from the accusations faced by former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and former civil service minister Georges Tron, his unexpected allegations of paedophilia and a subsequent coverup, have provoked a new storm.
"If anyone thinks he knows about a crime, he should make a complaint and not just blabber to the press," said Foreign Minister Alain Juppé on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, a children's rights group said it had filed a complaint in Morocco following the accusations.
"Moroccan courts can summon anybody who has knowledge that a crime has been committed," Yassine Krari, lawyer for the group Touche pas à mes enfants (Hands Off My Children), told RFI.
"Former ministers are not exempt from this obligation to assist the courts. The Moroccan courts will shed light on what happened. The events Ferry alludes to are a crime. And if he knows a crime took place and does not reveal his knowledge of it, then he is committing an offence."
islamist parties in morocco grasp the propaganda potential of sex tourism
Morocco is up in arms following an accusation that an unidentified French cabinet minister engaged in sexual relations with underage boys in the resort town of Marrakech. Luc Ferry, a former French education minister, ignited the affair on May 30, probably inadvertently, during a television debate on the reluctance of French media to report on the private lives of politicians. Wanting to give an example, he cited reports about a fellow minister participating in an orgy with Moroccan children but said he wouldn’t reveal the minister’s name for fear of being sued for libel. Ferry’s charges might have been ignored in the past. But France is in an uproar over the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. In Morocco, the story rekindled suspicions of foreign tourists and colonial exploitation by a country that was ruled by France for 44 years until 1956. Two days after Ferry’s remarks, Morocco’s justice minister, Mohamed Naciri, ordered legal authorities in Marrakech to launch an investigation. The same day an investigation was also initiated in Paris by the Moroccan child protection organization Don’t Touch My Child, and Ferry was summoned as a witness. French police opened their own probe. By that time, however, the affair had turned into a political football in Morocco. Hassan Al-Haithami, a spokesman for the Islamic opposition party Justice and Development, told Media Line:
The government was slow in responding. It should have acted immediately after Mr Ferry gave his interview and demanded that he reveal the name of the French minister and not wait for civil organizations to take action. If the government wants to encourage tourism through its silence, it should encourage real tourism, cultural and historic, not sex tourism, which is a mark of shame on an Islamic and Arab country.
Ferry, a celebrity philosopher and former education minister, alleged that the unnamed minister had been arrested in Marrakesh on suspicion of pedophilia but was quietly flown back to France in a cover-up. He asserted that his allegations were confirmed by “the highest authorities of the state” including a former prime minister. Since then, however, Ferry has stated he had no proof that a sex crime took place and was merely recounting what he had heard from other senior officials while he served in the cabinet from 2002 to 2004. If the abuse did indeed happen, it wasn’t an isolated case. A 2008 report by Don’t Touch My Child alleged that Morocco has emerged in recent years as a preferred destination for pedophiles because of lenient sentences handed out to offenders. Foreigners are often released quickly, the report said, accusing authorities of preferring the tourists’ hard currency to the protection of child victims, who are often street children or marginalized house servants. A Moroccan national named Lilia, calling in to a popular French radio program to complain about the harassment of Moroccan children by Europeans, reported seeing 12-year-old boys enter a building where European tourists were living during nighttime. Lilia told radio anchor Jean-Jacques Bourdin:
It’s well known that Marrakech is for the French and Agadir is for the Germans. I was at the beach in Agadir in midday and saw Germans with little boys, no older than 14. Everybody knows about this, but they shut their eyes.
Don’t Touch My Child said it received reports of 306 cases of sexual assaults against children across Morocco in 2008, the last year for which data was available. During a press conference in Paris last Wednesday, Najah Anwar, director of Don’t Touch My Child, warned foreigners of exploiting Moroccan children. Mentioning a recent 30-year prison sentence handed down to a Spanish national who was accused of having sexual relations with Moroccan minors, she told the audience:
Beware, Morocco has become very strict.
Moroccan Social Development Minister Nouzha Skalli denied that tourists were the only ones guilty of child molestation, warning that there would be “zero tolerance” towards perpetrators of sexual crimes against children. Skalli told parliament on Friday:
There is no tolerance of the matter. We share the same anger towards sexual exploitation of children and we will not accept it.
She added that a report was being prepared by her ministry on child pornography in Morocco, but that little data existed regarding the scope of sexual assaults of children. Abd-Al-Karim Al-Huweishari, a member of parliament for Justice and Development, accused local officials of intervening to rescue the accused French minister from punishment. Al-Huweishari was quoted by the daily Al-Massae as saying:
Child rape is rape of all Moroccans.
Jack Kalpakian, a political scientist at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, said the perception held by many Moroccans that foreigners are let off from serious crimes of pedophilia is simply untrue. Accusations such as those set off by Ferry feed traditional suspicions of Western tourists that he said are deeply rooted in Moroccan culture. He told Media Line:
There are plenty of people from the Gulf and Europe serving prison terms. Accusations to the contrary are simply not backed by the facts. Many Moroccans believe that Christians are basically immoral. Culturally, they also don’t understand the phenomenon of laïcité, which they regard as atheism. This is a serious problem; and the government discourages this mode of thinking. But the new accusations would fit the stereotypes.
SAY NO TO CHILD SEX TOURISM IN MOROCCO
In Morocco, children are trafficked and sexually abused by tourists. After the devastating Tsunami in Asia, an emerging sex tourism industry involving children in Morocco has grown rapidly...
This Blog is dedicated to the victims of sex tourism in Morocco and the world. I want to push and spread the message to put a stop to it.
Child Sex Tourism is a global issue. Every child has the right to grow up in an environment that provides care, respect and security.
SAY NO TO CHILD SEX TOURISM IN MOROCCO
This Blog is dedicated to the victims of sex tourism in Morocco and the world. I want to push and spread the message to put a stop to it.
- Awareness should be raised of children's rights in Morocco through mobilizaion of international support and parthnerships with humanitarian organizations etc..
- Proper tourism should be attracted to Morocco, a magical country that spans from busy medieval cities to desert excursions, from relaxed beach towns to scenic mountain ranges.
Child Sex Tourism is a global issue. Every child has the right to grow up in an environment that provides care, respect and security.
SAY NO TO CHILD SEX TOURISM IN MOROCCO
Sex tourism on the rise in Morocco
There are probably few countries that do not have a problem with paedophilia, pornography and sex tourism. Sadly it is a phenomenon that has been fueled by modern technology. The internet has become a pornography super-highway and also provides communication and file swapping between paedophiles. Air travel and tourism have increased around the globe and so too have the numbers of men traveling to destinations where they can find young prostitutes.
In Morocco, over the past decade there have been a few cases that hit the headlines. Several years ago police in Marrakech dismantled a child pornography network being run by French nationals and in the tourist city of Agadir (southern Morocco) last couple of years a big sex scandal grabbed the attention of the national media. In that case a German national was sentenced to three year' prison and a fine of MAD 5,000 for paedophilia, inciting a minor to vice, fitting out premises for this purpose and fostering sex tourism.
Earlier this year the Moroccan authorities arrested a network of about 18 Moroccans, among them a French of Moroccan descent, specialised in the production of pornographic films. After two months of investigations, a Marrakech court sentenced 13 people to a total of 30 years imprisonment, ranging from 6 months to 6 years in prison for each of the defendants.
The majority of them came from a popular tourist neighborhood located in Sidi Youssef Ben Ali prefecture. Aged between 18 and 20, these impoverished Moroccans found themselves involved in a very dirty adventure, risking their reputation for a very insignificant sum of money and a promise of immigration to France.
Under the Moroccan penal code, the individuals involved in a sex crime scandal, if convicted, risk one to 5 years imprisonment, with paying a fine ranging from MAD 5,000 to 1 million.
According to a statement in parliament by the Minister of Justice, sex tourism is on the rise. If his figures are accurate, then there is reason for grave concern. "The number of the cases registered in Moroccan courts in 2005-2010, involving foreigners and Moroccans with minors, has increased by 30%," Mohamed Bouzoubaa said. However, he went on to point out that... "Sexual perversion crimes are not exclusive to foreigners and must not be treated only by prison sentences but also by psychotherapy and pedagogical ways."
It is to be hoped that the campaigns against sex tourism are effective, not only in Morocco, but in the countries of origin of the offenders.
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