jail term for two university professors in Morocco

Moroccan justice sentenced, Tuesday, March 22, two university professors respectively to one year and 18 months in prison for “sexual harassment” against female students following a scandal that rocked the academic institution in Morocco. On the other hand, two other academics, prosecuted in the same so-called “sex for good grades“, were acquitted by the court of first instance of Settat (center-west), told AFP a lawyer for the civil party, Aïcha El Guella.

“It’s a lenient judgment for cases of sexual abuse. But the main thing is that two defendants are sentenced to prison.”

Aïcha El Guella, lawyer

at AFP

The four defendants, teaching at the Hassan I University of Settat, were prosecuted in particular for “incitement to debauchery”, “gender discrimination” or “use of violence against women”. The two students, who had joined as civil parties, will each receive damages of 60,000 dirhams (just over 5,500 euros).

In addition, the Settat Court of Appeal confirmed on March 21 the sentence of two years in prison pronounced against another professor at Hassan I University, convicted in particular of “violent indecent assault” in the same case, according to the lawyer. This scandal erupted last fall after the dissemination on social networks of sexual messages exchanged between one of the incriminated professors and his students. It served as the detonator for a series of similar revelations in Moroccan academic institutions. In Tangier (north), a professor was sentenced in February to one year in prison for “sexual harassment” against a student.

“Sex against good grades”: the verdict and fall in the Settat casehttps://t.co/cBz99wv5Ys

— Medias24 (@Medias24) March 22, 2022

These legal proceedings are unprecedented in the kingdom: cases of sexual harassment in higher education have been publicized in recent years but often without complaints being filed. Daring to publicly denounce an aggressor remains a rather rare step in a conservative Moroccan society which most often encourages victims of sexual violence to remain silent. However, thanks to active mobilization on social networks, the omerta on sexual blackmail in academia has been broken. Since then, several universities have set up free numbers to help victims and set up watch cells.