MEASURING THE SHADOW PANDEMIC:

VIOLENCE AGAINSTWOMEN DURING
COUNTRY REPORT: MOROCCOEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
COVID-19 has imposed serious economic challenges and health risks, disproportionately
impacting women in Morocco.1 Since female
labour force participation in the country is low
and most women who work are concentrated
in the informal sector, women in Morocco
were rendered particularly vulnerable to economic shocks. Congruently, the downstream
impacts of COVID-19 vary in type and severity
based on pre-existing factors, including socioeconomic status and risks due to other stressors. This research delves into the relationships
between measures of violence against women(VAW) and underlying demographic, behavioural and socioeconomic factors.

1

This study found that baseline feelings of safety in Morocco, whether inside or outside theirhouseholds, had significant negative impacts
on women’s mental and emotional well-being.
Among the factors associated with these feelings, external stressors such as food insecurity and loss of income stood out as having asignificant impact not only on experiences ofsafety (or violence) but also on women’s wellbeing overall, as did lack of reliance on institutions and their support for women who haveexperienced violence.

UN Volunteers. 2020. “Assessing and addressing the gender
impact of COVID-19 in Morocco.” 28 July.

2

1. INTRODUCTION
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Morocco’s
High Commission for Planning (HCP) in 2019,
found that 22% of women aged 15–74 have experienced physical violence and/or sexual violence in the past year.2
Since the pandemic began, rapid gender assessments (RGAs) conducted by UN Women
using administrative data from police, VAW
hotlines and other service providers suggested an increase in reported cases of violenceagainst women and girls. Measures implemented to limit the spread of the pandemic,
such as lockdowns and curfews, have had
an impact on VAW risk factors, especially for
women and girls who faced multiple formsof discrimination. In Morocco, NGOs have reported assistance requests from women thatspanned from help in reporting violence to requests for shelter or housing assistance, andresources needed to manage the impacts ofthe pandemic.3
Within this context, UN Women commissioned Ipsos to conduct an RGA survey on theimpact of COVID-19 on women’s well-being
and safety in 13 countries across regions. In
adapting the surveying methodology to befeasible in the COVID-19 context, proxy measures on experience of VAW were used to collect data on sensitive topics to reduce the risk

2

3

National Survey on Violence Against Women results in ONU
Femmes Maroc. 2020. “Premiers résultats de l’enquête nationale sur la violence à l’encontre des femmes réalisée en2019 par le Haut-Commissariat au Plan.” UN Women and
Morocco High Commission for Planning.
ONU Femmes Maroc. 2020. “Violences faites aux femmes et
aux filles en temps de crise – l’expérience du confinement au
Maroc.” ; “Impact of COVID-19 on Violence Against Womenin Morocco.”

to the respondents, and thus may not be directly comparable to other studies conducted
before the pandemic.
Having reliable data that were collected inline with methodological, safety, and ethicalstandards, without putting women at greater
distress and risk of violence, was critical to informing how policies and programmes can respond to the UN’s system-wide efforts to scale
up actions to address VAW in the context of
COVID-19.
This report details the findings of the survey
in Morocco between 18 August and 22 September 2021. The survey was conducted with
1,214 women aged 18 and older who had accessto a mobile phone. Mobile phone penetrationin Morocco is estimated at 134%,4 meaningthat many people have more than one mobile phone number registered in their name.
In 2017, the last year for which data are available, 94% of women in Morocco had a mobile
phone.5 To ensure a representative sample,
quotas were set on age (18–29, 30–39, 40–49,
50–59, 60+) and region (first-level administrative division).

45

Calculations made using 2020 World Bank data.
UN Women: Morocco

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco3

KEY FINDINGS
78%
of women said
that they or other
women they know
have experienced aform of violence.

44%

43%

31%

VerbalAbuse

Denied Basic
Needs

ForcedIsolation

16%

23%

of women feel unsafe intheir homes.

said this has gotten worse as a resultof the COVID-19 pandemic.

20%

30%

of women live in households withconflict among adults at least weekly.

said conflict between adults has
become more frequent as a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic.

55%
of women think that the experience of
verbal or physical abuse at the hands ofa partner is common for women in theircommunity.

68%
said this has gotten worse as a resultof the COVID-19 pandemic.

53%

21%

of women think that physical harm,abuse and harassment are a problem
for women in their community.

of women think physical harm, abuse,and harassment has gotten worse since
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

34% walking alone at night.
of women feel unsafe

13% walking alone during the day.
of women feel unsafe

45%
of women think that it iscommon for women to
be harassed in public.

4

2. EXPERIENCES OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
2.1. Proxy measures of violenceagainst women in the community
When considering measures of violenceagainst women at the community level, it isimportant to keep the context of the study inmind. Due to the remote nature of this survey,
indirect questions were asked as proxy indicators of VAW, meaning it was not possible
to distinguish respondent experiences fromthose of other women in their community or to
distinguish whether this experience occurred
within or outside of the household. While datafrom this study should not be interpreted asprevalence data, it nevertheless provides critical information on the impact of COVID-19 on
women’s perception of well-being and safety.
About 4 out of 5 women in Morocco (78%)
said that they, or another woman they know,
have experienced a form of VAW (such as violence, denial of basic needs, sexual harassment, restrictions or verbal abuse) in their
lifetime.6 Verbal abuse, denial of basic needs
and forced isolation were among the mostcommon forms of VAW reported, with 43% of
women reporting experience or knowledge ofdenial of basic needs, 44% of women reporting experience or knowledge of verbal abusein their lifetime, and 31% of women reporting
experience or knowledge of forced isolation.
Women in rural areas were significantly more
likely than women in urban areas to report experience or knowledge of denial of basic needs
6(60 compared to 39%, respectively) and forced
isolation (39% compared to 29%, respectively,in their lifetime than women in urban areas,
while women in urban areas were significantly more likely than women in rural areas
to report experience or knowledge of verbal
abuse in their lifetime (46 compared to 33%,
respectively). Since the start of the pandemic,
verbal abuse (35%), denial of basic needs (35%)
and forced isolation (28%) were also the mostcommonly reported forms of VAW among all
women.
Women who felt unsafe at home were significantly more likely than women who felt safe
to report experiencing or knowing someone
who had experienced the denial of basic needs
since COVID-19 (58 compared to 30%, respectively), verbal abuse (41 compared to 33%, respectively), and forced isolation (42 compared
to 26%, respectively) since the start of the pandemic. Additionally, women who felt unsafe
walking outside alone, during the day or night,
were significantly more likely than those who
felt safe to have experienced or to know someone who had experienced a denial of basic
needs (48 compared to 25%, respectively) andforced isolation (41 compared to 21%, respectively) since the start of COVID-19. This was
also true for those who experienced frequent
conflict in their homes compared those who
experienced infrequent conflict (54 comparedto 28%, respectively, for denial of basic needs,
and 38 compared to 25%, respectively, forforced isolation).

Cognitive testing of this question revealed that for many
women forced isolation and denial of basic needs were influenced by COVID-19 related measures and economic stress.
The results from this study suggest that women may bear adisproportionate burden when it comes to COVID-19 effects,
however it is important to keep the overall context in mind
when interpreting study results.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco5

Women who reported decreased income dueto the pandemic were significantly more likely
than women experiencing unchanged income(40 compared to 16%, respectively) to reportexperiencing or knowing someone who had
experienced verbal abuse since the onset of thepandemic. Women living in urban areas werealso significantly more likely than women inrural areas to report experiencing or knowing
someone who experienced verbal abuse since
the start of COVID-19 (38 compared to 22%, respectively).
Conversely, women in rural areas were significantly more likely than women in urban
areas to report denial of basic needs (48 compared to 31%, respectively) and forced isolation(36 compared to 26%, respectively) since COVID-19. This suggests that assistance may be

more sparse or more slowly rolled out in rural
areas than in urban ones.
Women with disabilities were also significantly more likely to report experiencing verbal abuse than women without disabilities(51 compared to 30%, respectively), as were
women living with partners compared to single women (37 compared to 29%, respectively)
since COVID-19.
Additionally, women who were food insecure
were also more likely than those who were
not to experience or know someone who had
experienced a denial of basic needs (62 compared to 16%, respectively) and forced isolation(52 compared to 14%, respectively) since thestart of the pandemic, highlighting again theassociation of financial and economic struggle
with VAW.

6FIGURE 1

Experience or knowledge of specific forms of VAW, over a lifetime and since COVID-19

All women

All women

28%

31%
56%



41%



All women

Sexualharassment

5%

9%

8%



All women

No experience or knowledge

Among women who felt
unsafe at home

31%

14%





Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone
Experience or knowledge
in lifetime

69%





Among women who felt
unsafe at home

53%
42%



86%



44%



Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone



91%

55%



58%





Forcedisolation

57%



Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone



69%

43%
47%



45%
41%





35%

43%



Among women who felt
unsafe at homeAmong women who felt
unsafe walking alone

Denial of
basic
needs

45%





47%





Among women who felt
unsafe at home

84%
11%



30%



57%

55%

23%





35%

44%





Verbalabuse

Among women who felt
unsafe walking alone



56%

15%





All women

77%



12%



19%







7%

81%



Physicalviolence

12%





88%

16%





Among women who felt
unsafe at homeExperience or knowledge
exclusively since COVID-19

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco

7

3. FEELINGS OF SAFETY
3.1. Personal safety inside the home
When it comes to safety within the household, 20% of women said that there has been
conflict between adults in their household atleast weekly over the past six months. Threein 10 (30%) said that conflict has become more
frequent since the onset of COVID-19. Those

who experienced frequent household conflict
were nearly four times as likely as those who
experienced infrequent conflict (67 compared
to 17%, respectively) to say that the frequency
has increased as a result of the pandemic, suggesting that existing household tensions havebeen exacerbated.

FIGURE 2

Changes in frequency of household conflict as a result of COVID-19

All women

30%

Among women fromhouseholds withfrequent conflict
between adults
Among women fromhouseholds with
infrequent conflict
between adults

55%

67%

17%

More frequent

14% 1%

23%

68%

About the same10%

14% 1%

Less frequent

Note: “Don’t know” responses in the dark grey bars comprised 1% or less of total responses in each category

Nearly 1 in 5 women (16%) said that they havefelt unsafe in their household in the last six
months. Those who experienced frequent conflict (at least weekly) between adults in thehousehold were five times as likely as thosewith infrequent conflict to have felt unsafe
in their homes (40 compared to 8%, among
women who said that they experience household conflict infrequently). Additionally, women who said that they or another woman theyknow had experienced physical violence since

COVID-19 were more than twice as likely tohave felt unsafe as those who did not (34, compared to 14%, respectively).
Women with children in the household (18%),
as well as women whose income decreased
during the pandemic (18%) and who generated
income (20%), were also more likely to reportfeeling unsafe at home than women who did
not have children in the household (13%), hadstable income (9%) or did not generate income
for the household (15%). Women who felt un-8safe at home were three times as likely as
those who did not to be severely food insecure(19 compared to 6%) – indicating the influenceof economic stressors on women’s sense ofstability and safety in the home.
For nearly a quarter of women (23%), the
COVID-19 pandemic has made things worse
in terms of how safe they feel in their home.

Among women who said that they already felt
unsafe this number increased over threefold
to 72%. And for those who said that they oranother woman they know had experienced
physical violence in their lifetime it increased
by 38%, reinforcing the point that the COVID-19
pandemic has intensified existing vulnerabilities and safety issues for women in Morocco.

FIGURE 3

Perceptions of women’s safety in the household, by frequency of household conflict
Felt unsafe at home

Felt less safe at home since
the onset of COVID-19

52%
40%
30%
20%
13%

8%

Frequent household conflict

Occasional household conflict

When asked why they have felt unsafe in theirhomes, women most often cited serious medical conditions or disabilities increasing vulnerability (56%), verbal abuse (37%), lack of trustin household members (37%) and inability tocommunicate or reach out for help (36%, witha much higher 60% for women in rural areas).
This suggests that a key to supporting women

No household conflictis to develop ways to reach out to more vulnerable and less-connected populations, including women who may be medically vulnerable
and unable to leave their homes on their own
and women who are isolated both physically and in terms of communication technology, especially after COVID-19 lockdown
precautions.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco

9

FIGURE 4

Reasons for women feeling unsafe in their homes (among the 16% who reported feeling unsafe)
I had a serious medical condition or disability and felt vulnerable

56%

There was verbal abuse in my household

37%

I was living with people I could not trust

37%

I was unable to communicate/reach out for help

36%

My shelter was insecure (e.g., there are no locks)

24%

Other women in the household had been hurt

15%

There was physical violence in my household

14%

There was substance abuse (e.g., alcohol or drugs) in the household

14%

Other adults in the household had hurt me

14%

Children in the household had been hurt

11%

Another reason

14%

Indicates reasons most closely tied to violence

3.2. Personal safety in public spaces
When out in their communities, the majority of women said that they feel safe walking
alone during the day (87%), but this drops tojust 54% when asked about walking alone atnight. Moreover, nearly 1 in 3 (29%) said thatthey feel less safe while out at night since thestart of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perceptions of safety differed by age and location. Younger women aged 18–39 were more

likely than women 40 and older to say they
feel unsafe when walking alone at night (47%for age 18–39 and 21% for age 40 and older)
and less safe since the onset of COVID-19 (37%for age 18–39 and 21% for age 40 and older).
Across urban and rural areas, women wereequally affected by safety concerns walking
alone during the day; however, a larger proportion of women in rural areas reported feelingunsafe at night (39, compared to 33% for urban
areas) and less safe since the start of the pandemic (36 compared to 27%, for urban areas).

10

FIGURE 5

Perceptions of safety while out in public, by location (urban and rural)
Felt unsafe walking
alone during the day

Felt unsafe walking
alone at night

33%
14%

12%

Urban

Rural

Urban

Felt less safe since theonset of COVID-19

39%

36%
27%

Rural

Urban

Rural

4. PERCEPTIONS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
4.1. Women’s perceived safety inside
the home
When considering the perception of experience, over half (55%) of women believe theexperience of verbal or physical abuse at thehands of a partner is common for women.
Women aged 50 and older were significantly
more likely to think this was common (65,compared to 50% of women under 50 years ofage), as were women in urban areas (57, compared to 45% in rural areas).
Similar to patterns around safety in public
spaces, personal experience of safety issues
inside the home appears to be associatedwith women’s perceptions of the safety ofother women in the community within theirhomes. Among women who have felt unsafe
in their own home, 71% said that they thought
the experience of verbal or physical abuse at
the hands of a partner is common, compared

to 52% among those who felt safe in theirhomes, and among women who experienced
frequent conflict in their households this number was 67%, compared to 52% among those
who experienced infrequent conflict. Notably,
women who reported experiencing or knowing someone who experienced VAW in their
lifetime were more likely to think that partner abuse was a common occurrence in theircommunities. These data points suggest thatwomen may be including their own experiences when reporting on the experiences ofwomen in their community, as well as bolstering the evidence-based theory that women include their own experience when reporting on
community measures.
Women who viewed partner abuse as very
common were also more likely to be food insecure than those who did not, which highlights
the significance of economic security on women’s broader sense of safety as well.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco11

FIGURE 6

Perceptions of partner abuse, by experience of safety24%

All womenAmong women who
thought violence, abuse, orharassment is a problem
in their community

29%

Among women who
had felt unsafe intheir home

Very common

31%

18%

38%

49%

Common17%

22%

UncommonTwo-thirds of women (68%) thought women’s
experiences of physical and verbal abuse at thehands of a partner have worsened since thestart of the pandemic. Similar to the perception of safety in public spaces, younger women(85% of women under the age of 40, compared

19%

14%

Very uncommon

8%

11%

5%

11% 4%

Don’t know

to 51% of women over 40) and those in rural
areas (78, compared with 66% of women in urban area) were more likely than older womenand those in urban areas to say partner abusehas gotten worse since the onset of COVID-19.

FIGURE 7

Perceptions of partner violence, by experience or knowledge of VAW in lifetime
Thought abuse at the hands ofa partner is common

Thought abuse at the hands of apartner has gotten worse since
the onset of COVID-19

89%
80%
71%

70%

65%

53%

53%
42%

Yes

No

Women or someone
they know has
experienced physicalabuse in a lifetime

Yes

No

Women or someone
they know has
experienced verbal
abuse in a lifetime

Yes

No

Women or someone
they know has
experienced physicalabuse in a lifetime

Yes

No

Women or someone
they know has
experienced verbal
abuse in a lifetime

12Similar to experiences of violence outside thehome, a vast majority of women (84%) said
that they believe that women would seekout help if they experienced verbal or physical abuse at the hands of a partner. However,
58% of women said that they would primarily
seek support from family and only 9% said thatthey would primarily seek help from the police.
These findings corroborate existing data on
VAW reporting from the national prevalence
survey7 and indicate that domestic violence islikely underreported to authorities. Womenare more likely to suggest women’s centres,
NGOs or safehouses as alternatives to reporting to the police (22%), pointing towards better
trust and access to community services
Women who said that they or another woman
they know had experienced physical violencein their lifetime were more likely than women
who did not (18 compared to 6%, respectively)
to first seek help from NGOs and safehouses
and less likely than those who did not (48 compared to 59%, respectively) to rely primarily
on family. However, those experiencing verbal abuse reported the opposite – indicatingthat verbal abuse may be particularly underreported. Women who said that they or another
woman they know had experienced verbal
abuse were less likely to know of any resources
dedicated to women in their communities, further implying that isolation of these groups is
likely.
Although the majority of women reported thatthey have continued to leave the house and socialize, 6 in 10 women (63%) said that COVID-19
has limited their interactions with friends andsocial groups. The impacts of violence against
7

The National Survey on Violence Against Women (2019) :UN Women and Morocco High Commission for Planningfound that: “In all contexts, only 10.4% of victims (7.5% in themarital context and 11.3% in the non-marital context) havetaken legal action or filed a complaint with the competentauthorities (gendarmerie, judiciary, local authority) after
having been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence:
13% in the case of physical violence and only 3% in the case of
sexual violence. These percentages are respectively 7% and
2% in the marital context and 22% and 3% in extra-maritalcontexts. As a result, sexual violence is less reported thanphysical violence.”

women in public and private were also observed when analysing women’s socializationand movement patterns. Women who said
that they or another woman they know haveexperienced physical violence or sexual harassment since COVID-19 were far more likely
to say that the pandemic has limited their interaction with friends and social groups (86compared to 60% of women who said thatneither they nor someone they know had experienced physical violence, and 83 compared
to 61% for women who said that neither they
nor someone they know had experienced sexual harassment).

4.2. Perceptions of violence against
women in the community
When asked about violence, abuse or the harassment of women, more than half (53%) of
women said that they believe these issues areat least somewhat of a problem in their communities and an additional 15% said that they
are a little bit of a problem. Violence, abuse or
the harassment of women in the community
were more likely to be perceived as a problem
by women who live in urban areas compared
to women who live in rural areas (56 compared
to 40%, respectively). Women who have experienced a decrease in household income since
the pandemic were also more likely to report
perceiving a problem compared to those whoreported unchanged income (57 compared to40%, respectively), as well as women aged 50
and older (63%) particularly when compared tothose under 50 years old (48%).
Women who felt unsafe walking alone outside, day or night, were significantly more
likely to perceive violence, abuse or the harassment of women as a problem in their communities compared to women who felt safe (62,compared to 50%, respectively), as were women who felt unsafe in their homes compared
to women who felt safe (67, compared to 50%,
respectively).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco

13

FIGURE 8

Extent to which violence, abuse or the harassment of women are a problem in the community

All women

35%

18%

Among those who
felt unsafe walking
around alone

33%

Among those
who felt unsafe
in their home

33%

Among those who
experienced frequenthousehold conflictat least weekly

31%

A lot

Somewhat

15%

29%

27%

13%

33%

32%

A little bit

Additionally, 1 in 5 women (21%) said that violence, abuse or the harassment of women in
their community have increased since thestart of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 53% said
that they have stayed the same. Women under
the age of 50 were more than twice as likely to
say violence, abuse or the harassment of women have increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (24%) compared with women
aged 50 and over (12%). Among women who
reported feeling unsafe while out alone, 32%
said that conditions in their communities haveworsened since the start of the pandemic.
Comparatively, among women who reported
feeling safe, only 13% (nearly three times fewer) felt that conditions in their communities
had worsened since the start of the pandemic.

4.3. Women’s perceived safety inpublic spaces
When considering the perceived experiencesof women in the community more broadly,

12%

12%

Not at all

5%

22%

3%

19%

3%

22%

3%

Don't know

almost half (45%) of respondents said thatthey think it is common for women to experience harassment and safety issues in public atnight – slightly higher than the 34% of women
who personally feel unsafe at night. Women
aged 50 and older were significantly more
likely than women younger than 50 to think it
is common for women to experience harassment and safety issues in public at night (61compared to 38%, respectively). Urban women
were significantly more likely than woman inrural areas to think public harassment andsafety issues were common at night (49 compared to 28%, respectively). Those who said
that they generate income for their household
were also significantly more likely than those
who did not to consider public harassment
and safety issues common at night (52 compared to 42%, respectively). This may be due toincreased exposure to these types of incidents
at night among women in urban areas and/or
those involved in income-generating activities.

14

While less likely to perceive women experiencing safety issues at night as common, younger
women and those in rural areas are each more
likely to say that safety issues at night havegotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic.
When asked how issues of safety for womenout at night have changed since the onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic, women under theage of 50 were more likely than women over
the age of 50 to say that things have gotten
worse (62 compared to 36%, respectively).
Women living in rural areas were also more
likely to perceive safety at night to have gotten
worse since the COVID-19 pandemic compared
to women in urban areas and to the overall
population of women (63 compared to 51 and
54%, respectively).
Women who reported experiences or knowledge in a lifetime of verbal abuse or sexual harassment were almost twice as likely as those
who did not to say that women experiencing

safety issues while out at night is common,
particularly women who reported experiences
or knowledge of verbal abuse compared tothose who did not (63 compared to 30%, respectively) or sexual harassment (62 compared
to 43%, respectively). Women with knowledge
or experience of verbal abuse in their lifetime
were more likely to perceive that it had gotten
worse since the pandemic than those who didnot (69 compared to 52%, respectively), while
those with knowledge or experience of sexual
abuse were less likely to say it had gotten worse
than those who had not (42 compared to 62%,
respectively). However, when looking at experience or knowledge in a lifetime of any typeof VAW, overall, women were nearly equally as
likely to think that experiencing safety issues
while out at night has gotten worse since theonset of COVID-19 (53% for those who had experiences or knowledge of any type of VAW,
compared to 56% for those who did not).

FIGURE 9

Perception of women’s safety in public at night, by experience or knowledge of VAW in a
lifetimeThought women experiencing safetyissues while out at night is common

Thought women experiencing safetyissues out at night has gotten worse
since the onset of COVID-19

62%

63%

62%

63%
52%

43%

42%
30%

Yes

No

Women or someone
they know has
experienced sexual
abuse in a lifetime

Yes

No

Women or someone
they know has
experienced verbal
abuse in a lifetime

Yes

No

Women or someone
they know has
experienced sexual
abuse in a lifetime

Yes

No

Women or someone
they know has
experienced verbal
abuse in a lifetime

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco15

A large majority of women (87%) expected thatwomen experiencing harassment or abuse inpublic spaces would seek help. Among these
women, half (50%) said that they expected
women would primarily seek help from thepolice, while 30% said that they would primarily seek help from family. These results are
consistent with the findings that nearly half ofwomen in Morocco (46%) said help in reporting VAW incidents or dealing with police wasavailable to women in their community.
More than half of women (54%) who said thatthey or another woman they know have experienced violence, abuse or harassment intheir lifetime said that they thought womenexperiencing such incidents in public spaces
would primarily seek help from the police, ascompared to 35% of women who did not, suggesting that women with greater exposure to
VAW may be more inclined to seek out official
channels to address VAW when it happens inpublic spaces. Correspondingly, women who
said that neither themselves or other women
they know had experienced a form of VAW
in their lifetime were significantly more likely
to suggest women would primarily seek family support (39%) than women who did reportknowledge or experience of VAW (28%).
While one in three women (34%) reported
feeling unsafe when out at night alone andslightly more than 1 in 10 (13%) felt unsafe during the day, the majority of women (79%) said
that they have left their house by themselvesat least once a week. Those in rural areas wereless likely to say they have left their home bythemselves at least once a week (61%). Women
who report being in income-generating activities were more likely to leave the house daily
than those not involved in income-generating
activities (65, versus 36% leaving the homedaily respectively).

16

5. IMPACTS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMENThis study indicates strong relationships between measures of VAW, changes in women’s
behaviours and their feelings of mental health,suggesting that impressions and experience ofsafety (or lack thereof) may be associated withwomen’s mental and emotional health. Women who said that they had felt unsafe at homewere more likely than those who felt safe toreport feeling down, depressed or hopeless atleast half the time (67 compared to 58%, respectively) and to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted them exclusively negatively (62 compared to 53%, respectively).
In addition to experiences of safety issues being strongly associated with mental and emotional well-being, women who were livingwith partners were significantly more likely toreport experiencing symptoms of depression
and anxiety than women who were single:

•

•

•

Two in three (66%) of partnered womenreported not being able to stop or control
worrying at least half the time compared
to 51% of single women.
64% of partnered women compared to
49% of single women reported having little interest or pleasure in doing things at
least half the time.
63% of partnered women compared to
48% of single women reported feeling
down, depressed or hopeless at least half
the time).

Women who lived in urban areas were more
likely to report experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety compared to those who
did not, as were those who had lower education levels compared to those who had higher
education levels, as were those who said thatthey have a disability compared to those who
did not.

FIGURE 10

Measures of mental health, by feelings of safety61%

Had little interest or
pleasure in doing things at
least half of the days since
the onset of COVID-19

63%
56%

63%

Not been able to stop or
control worrying at least
half of the days since theonset of COVID-19

64%
57%

59%

Felt down, depressed or
hopeless at least half ofthe days since the onset
of COVID-19

All women

67%54%Felt unsafe at home

Felt unsafe walking
around alone

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco17Overall, 55% of women in Morocco said that
the COVID-19 pandemic has had an exclusively negatively impact on their mental andemotional well-being. Among women who
said that they are another woman they know
had experienced VAW in their lifetime thisincreased to 60% (compared to 37% among
women who have not experienced or know another woman who had experienced VAW) andfor women who felt unsafe in their own home
this was 62% compared to 53% among those
who felt safe.

spectively) as were women who experienced adecrease in income since the pandemic compared to women who experienced unchanged
income (61 compared and 31%, respectively).
Additionally, women who said the pandemic
impacted their mental health negatively werefour times more likely to be severely food insecure compared to those who said that COVID-19 had no impact on their mental healthat all (9 compared to 2%, respectively). These
data indicate the potential influences of external stressors such as pre-existing conditions
and financial issues as important associations
with mental health and suggesting, as previous reports had found, that the negative impacts of COVID-19 are felt the strongest by
those already experiencing hardship.

Women who reported having a disability weremore likely to report exclusively negative effects from the pandemic compared to women
without disabilities (69 compared to 51%, reFIGURE 11

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, by feelings of safety

All women

55%

Among women
who felt unsafe
at homeAmong women who
felt unsafe walking
around alone

COVID-19 has
had only negative
impacts

4%

62%

54%

COVID-19 has had
both negative andpositive impacts

21%

5%

3%

24%

COVID-19 has
had only positive
impacts

20%

22%

11%

19%

COVID-19 has
had no impact
at allNote: “Don’t know” responses in the dark grey bars comprised 1% or less of total responses in each category

Most women (80%) said that resources like
professional mental health experts were notavailable as support services for women in
their community, and among women who
said that they or another woman they know

had experienced verbal abuse in their lifetime
this increased to 87%. Numbers were equallyhigh among women in rural areas (86%) andthose living with disabilities (87%).

18

FIGURE 12

Awareness of community help/support services, by location (urban and rural)



1%



42%



51%

2%



34%

65%

40%

30%

12%

16%





Rural





2%

Rural

Urban




48%



54%



43%

50%



4%





All women

64%





Urban



Informationabout
security/
crime
prevention

47%





4%

45%





49%

All women

53%

3%



48%



Legal
support/help
reporting to
the police

6%







5%
49%

33%



60%



Accessto basicneeds
All women

2%



33%




66%

Rural

1%





3%
64%

Urban

34%



69%





Medicalservices

All women

80%

Someoneto talk to/mentalhealthexperts

4%



17%



78%

18%

86%





Urban

4%



16%




80%

Rural

2%





80%

2%





All women

4%

Rural



3%

Urban



16%

80%





FinancialsupportAll women

Urban

Don’t know

Yes

Rural

No

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco

19Results from this study also show that women
are willing to seek help when they face VAW
in Morocco; however, the majority of womenare unaware of resources that may be available should they find themselves in an unsafe
and vulnerable situation. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, women in this study remain reluctant to report VAW to official authorities andexpress preferences to report to other entities,
including NGOs, shelters or family members.
The same findings were reported by the HCP
national survey on violence against women,
which revealed that only 10.4% of women haveinitiated a legal action or filed a complaint tothe authorities (Gendarmerie Royale, judiciaryor a local authority) after having experienced
physical and/or sexual violence, all contexts
included. The proportion is 13% in case of physical violence and only 3% in the case of sexual
violence. Moreover, most women (57.8%) reported that they were not aware of the existence of Law 103-13 on combating violenceagainst women. The data show that regardless of their sociodemographic characteristics,
women are much better informed about nongovernmental associations (62.3%) than aboutState structures (40.7%).8

6. RECOMMENDATIONS
The impacts of COVID-19 on VAW in Morocco
are significant. Since the pandemic, women in
Morocco have encountered violence in public
and in private spheres, at the hands of strangers and of those closest to them. What’s more,with around 36% of women likely experiencing food insecurity at the time of the study and75% saying they had lost income (mostly due
to the COVID-19 pandemic), external stressorsthat can increase the risk of VAW are on therise.
As a result of the intersectionality of VAW socioeconomic conditions, and women’s mental
and emotional well-being, policy and programmatic interventions will need to be tailoredto address the factors driving various forms
of VAW as well as its multi-faceted effects.
In addition, the resources made available towomen experiencing VAW need to be tailoredto their specific contexts and needs. The findings of this study reinforced the importanceof partnering with existing infrastructure that
supports women in vulnerable situations toempower communities with the full suite ofresources they may need to support women.

Considering the above, the findings of thisstudy support three recommendations:
1. Interventions that are meant to address
VAW should consider how policy interventions in other areas may alleviate some of theroot causes of VAW, including through fully
integrating VAW measures in post-COVID-19
recovery plans as an opportunity to build
back better.
In Morocco, women’s perception of safety inside their own homes and their emotional andmental well-being have been impacted by the
pandemic. Throughout the country, womenconsider partner abuse and feelings of unsafety in public spaces as common and a majority
experience frequent conflict in the household.
In fact, according to the National Prevalence
study conducted by the HCP in 2019, 54% of
women consider that the conjugal context iswhere VAW is most prevalent, compared to
28% for public spaces. Moreover, 75% of women consider that violence has increased in public spaces within the past five years, while the8

UN Women and Morocco High Commission for Planning.
2019. National Survey on Violence Against Women.

20

proportion is 69% for the conjugal context.9
Just before the onset of the pandemic, Morocco adopted the National Programme Attamkine for Women and Girls’ Economic Empowerment by 2030, which fully integrates EVAW
measures in both public and private spaces aspart of the overall strategic framework. In addition, a dedicated National Strategy to EVAW
was adopted in 2021 to reinforce these coordinated efforts and support women across thecountry. While these policies provide a strong
base to support women in Morocco, it is recommended that they are further adjusted torespond to the increased vulnerabilities ofwomen and girls since the pandemic, especially for women working in the informal economy. This type of integrated approach, which
directly connects women’s economic empowerment to measures against VAW, can help
address VAW root causes, including financial
stressors caused by COVID-19, in conjunction
with improving women’s emotional and mental well-being and eliminating some of the factors that make VAW more likely to occur.
2. Enhance the response and provision of essential services by authorities and civil society
and improve trust in order to boost reporting
and bolster women’s confidence and feelingsof safety.
This study revealed that surveyed women remain reluctant to report VAW to official authorities and express preferences to reportto other entities, including NGOs, shelters, orfamily members, which suggests that there ismore confidence in civil society options than ininstitutional services. This could be due to thefact that the institutional response in Morocco
is fairly recent and was only recently regulatedby the adoption of Law 103.13 in 2018, while
CSOs have been active in operating services forsurvivors of violence for several decades. Policing, judicial and social services systems should
focus on raising the awareness of women,
and communities more broadly, on the ser9

UN Women and Morocco High Commission for Planning.
2019. National Survey on Violence Against Women.

vices that are available and ensure that these
services are responding to survivors’ needs byconducting regular quality evaluations andefficiency assessments. These interventions,coupled with policies focusing on reducing
women’s vulnerability, could further help establish trust and credibility within the formal
institutionalized system.
Along with improvements to formal reporting
systems, interventions seeking to help women
vulnerable to VAW should also include bolstering the informal institutions and networks thatwomen in Morocco already use. Centralized resources may not be accessible for all womenexperiencing violence from a partner or otherhousehold member, not only because violencein the home is often considered a private matter but also because of a lack of accessibility
and fear of repercussions. Careful placementof resources in more informal channels where
women already feel comfortable reporting(i.e., through civil society organizations andcommunity leaders who are trained in how
to handle reporting of VAW), could further increase the likelihood that women in Morocco
experiencing VAW can and will get the help
they need. To this end, it is critical to provide
NGOs and other civil society organizations focused on EVAW and supporting survivors withharmonized tools and government support toachieve their objectives.
3. Sensitivity around intra-household conflict as well as traditional roles and norms in
Morocco require programmatic interventions
that aim to shift harmful social norms while
conducting further research on how gendernorms may silence VAW survivors.
While this study provides insight into the prevalence and attitudes surrounding VAW, further research that delves into the underlying
behavioural drivers and social/gender norms
that are the root causes of VAW in Morocco
is needed. In particular, in-depth qualitative
research can unpack the “how” and “why” behind the attitudes and behaviours that surround VAW and the reporting process and be

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco21

used to build a more thorough framework tounderstand the experience of VAW for women in Morocco and develop programming to
end it.
As part of these efforts, it is critical to undertake programming focused on destigmatizing
VAW in order to encourage women to take up
the resources that are available to them. VAWremains a taboo topic in Morocco that womenare not comfortable discussing and have conflicting feelings about. Indeed, as revealed by
the HCP 2019 survey, 48% of women perceive
domestic violence as a private experience thatshould not be revealed to others. This type of
educational programming is most impactfulwhen paired with initiatives that seek to improve or eliminate environmental stressorsthat are root causes of VAW, particularly inlight of the findings from this study that link
shifting dynamics within the household andrelational stress between family members todownstream effects on women’s safety andtheir general well-being. Therefore, programmatic interventions that target intra-household relationships and norms, address masculinities and impact of women’s economic
empowerment on household relations should
be considered to jointly resolve conflicts, bolster women’s well-being and improve women’s safety within the home.

7. METHODOLOGY
The survey was fielded via Computer-Assisted
Telephone Interviewing using random-digit
dialing with mobile numbers between 18 August and 22 September 2021. The total numberof completed interviews was 1,214. During thesurvey period, Morocco was in the middle of a
spike in weekly reported new COVID-19 cases,
although this spike did drop towards the endof the study.10 A night-time curfew was implemented before the study, going into effect on
3 August 2021 and the Government extended
the country’s Health State of Emergency until
31 October.11

The sample was drawn via random-digit dialing among the population of mobile phone
numbers, so the sample population is limited
to women aged 18 or over with mobile phone
access. Women over age 60 were also specifically targeted with an existing database toensure adequate coverage of this age group.
However, the percentages for each age groupfrom this survey match the percentages foreach age group from Morocco’s Census data.12

Age group

Percentage of adult women based on Census data

Percentage of adult women from sample data

18–29

28%

30%

30–39

22%

23%

40–49

19%

20%

50–59

15%

15%

60+

17%

12%

10 Reuters. 2021. “Morocco.” https://graphics.
reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/
countries-and-territories/morocco/
11 https://ma.usembassy.gov/category/alert/

12 High Commission for Planning (Morocco). 2014. https://www.hcp.ma/Projections-de-la-population-totale-duMaroc-par-age-simple-et-sexe-2014-2050_a2209.html,
http://rgphentableaux.hcp.ma/Default1/

22

DEFINITIONSCommunity: A term referencing the geographic area in which the respondent lives.
Food insecurity: This study used the Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO)’s formulation
to measure food insecurity, with an eightstatement battery. These data can be used toestablish estimates of the proportion of thesample who were moderately or severely foodinsecure, which can also be disaggregated byother variables of interest through the useof the FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale(FIES) module. Any references in the report toprevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity represent estimates of the prevalence andshould be interpreted as such.
Partnered: A term referring to women who
were married or living/cohabiting with a partner.
Violence against women: Any act of genderbased violence that results in, or was likely
to result in, physical, sexual or psychologicalharm or suffering to women, including threatsof such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivationof liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
Felt unsafe walking alone: Refers to women
who indicated that they felt “not very safe” or“not safe at all” walking alone outside during
the day (at question C02) or during the night(at question C03).

Experienced or knew someone who had experienced VAW: Refers to women who indicatedthat they, or another woman they knew, had
experienced any form of VAW. “Since COVID-19” is added to indicate women who indicated that these incidents had only been occurring since the start of the pandemic.
Experienced frequent conflict: Refers to respondents who indicated that they experienced conflict or arguments in their homes atleast once a week during the last six months(at question C19).
Experienced infrequent conflict: Refers to
respondents who indicated that they experienced conflict or arguments in their homes“once or twice” or “never” during the last six
months (at question C19).
Violence, abuse or the harassment of womenare a problem the community: Refers to respondents who indicated that physical harm,abuse or the harassment of women are “alot”, “somewhat”, or “a little bit” of a problem
where they live (at question C07).
Violence, abuse or the harassment of womenare not a problem the community: Refers to respondents who indicated that physical harm,abuse or the harassment of women are “notat all” a problem where they live (at question
C07).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19 in Morocco23

© 2022 UN Women. All rights reserved.
The views expressed in this publication arethose of the author(s) and do not necessarily
represent the views of UN Women, the United
Nations or any of its affiliated organizations.
Produced by the Women Count programme
Editor: Jen Ross
Design: Ouissal Hmazzou

220 East 42nd Street
New York, New York 10017, USA
data.unwomen.org
www.unwomen.org
www.facebook.com/unwomen
www.twitter.com/un_women
www.youtube.com/unwomen
www.flickr.com/unwomen
instagram.com/unwomen