'It Was Unusual,' Calls to Break the Silence of Sexual Harassment in Morocco

Four women in Morocco have filed complaints of sexual harassment against French businessman, Jacques Bouthier, saying they had been sacked because they refused to give in to harassment and intimidation, MEE reported.

One of the victims said in a press conference in Tangier: “You feel like a piece of meat, your humanity is denied, your thoughts are denied, and your rights are denied. If you are a woman and you face harassment, then you have to keep quiet and not say anything.”

According to France 24, Bouthier is charged with several acts of people trafficking, sexual harassment and verbal and moral violence between 2018 and 2022.

Jacques Bouthier is one of France's richest men; last month, he resigned as CEO of insurance brokers Vilavi, formerly known as Assu 2000.

Mr. Bouthier, 75-year-old, is now under formal investigation in France for raping a minor.

The businessman is also being prosecuted for kidnapping in an organized gang and possession of child pornography.

 

Calls to Break the Silence

Women who were victims of sexual harassment by their boss, French businessman, Jacques Bouthier demanded, in a press conference, to break the silence of hundreds of cases in Morocco and encouraged more victims to have a voice and file complaints to expose those involved.

Young Moroccan women who have been assaulted and harassed in their workplace, filed four judicial complaints against Mr. Bouthier.

Lawyer Karima Salama, a member of the Moroccan Association for the Rights of Victims (AMDV), told AFP, that three of the four complainants were presented along with activists of the association, and attended a press conference in Tangier, during which it was announced that the four complaints had been raised about acts of "human trafficking, sexual harassment and verbal and moral violence.”

One of Mr. Bouthier's alleged victims said: "He asked to sleep with me and when I said no, he asked me to introduce him to a sister, a female cousin or a friend, saying he would give me a nice present in exchange.”

The activists confirmed that they were sacked after refusing to submit to "harassment and blackmail" by the French businessman, who was running this company, in incidents dating between 2018 and 2022.

According to France 24, the filing of these complaints with the Public Prosecution Office in Tangier came after similar cases emerged in France in which the same person was accused.

The complainants, now aged between 26 and 28 years old, preferred to cover their faces with medical masks and black glasses and not to reveal their names “to protect themselves,” as explained by the association’s president, Aisha Kalla.

Reasons of social stigma and negative judgments often prevent women who were victims of sexual assaults from speaking out and even from filing judicial complaints, despite recent laws that tighten penalties against sexual harassment in Morocco.

 

Exploitations and Condemnations

One of the complainants addressed the journalists saying: “I dared to speak today because I want to give a lesson to all harassers […] and they are many in the world, but also to send a message of hope to all victims of sexual harassment."

She added: “It is time for us all to wake up and end this normalization of workplace harassment.”

The young victim was covering her face with glasses while speaking and accused her former boss and other officials of the company of “offering financial temptations” in exchange for sex.

The young woman confirmed she was severely subjected to “terrible pressure” and said she had been sacked, and the reason was her refusal to accept temptations.

Another complainant, who was sitting next to her, added: “It was a difficult period during which I suffered a lot. I am speaking today because I no longer feel alone after I knew that there were a number of other victims in France and Morocco.”

The woman accused the French businessman of dismissing her from work, after “she refused his harassment,” continuing: “I say to those who are still afraid, this is the time to break the silence.”

The third young woman said that the defendant “passed his hand over her body while being in the office […] I was shocked and I’m still under, without anyone supporting me."

“At some point I lost faith in everyone, and I started to think that for a woman to have a job means that she must be harassed," she added.

While giving their testimonies, the victims fiercely denounced the "complicity of other Moroccan and French officials" in the company, of which the French businessman resigned from after his arrest, criticizing the "exploitation of the vulnerability of female employees” in this institution, which has three branches in Tangier.

 

Rampant at Workplace

With the absence of laws protecting them from sexual harassment at work, Moroccan women find it hard to speak out and expose those involved especially their male bosses because they will be automatically sacked and judged.

Fatma, who required anonymity, told Al-Estiklal about her story of sexual harassment at work, saying: “My boss had promised I will be promoted if I stay extra hours in the evening; one day, he said he will pay me but I have to wait until all workers leave, he closed the door and grabbed me saying he wants to sleep with me but tell nobody, I was taken aback, when I heard this, I was really shocked, there is no word could express how I was feeling, I remained speechless, I don’t know how I said NO, and left, of course, I did not come back knowing I was automatically sacked.”

Fatma said that the majority of Moroccan women are just like her, afraid to speak out about the ordeal they are subjected to at work by male employers who cannot control their sexual desires.

Women, especially in Arab societies, do not dare to speak of sexual harassment they have experienced because they fear it might destroy their marriage, relationships, or brand them in a shameful way in societies tending to take rumors—especially those pertaining to “honor”—far too seriously.

Morocco is not on the list of the top 10 most dangerous countries for sexual harassment against women, but of course it is not an exception from gender violence–nor is any country on Earth.

Sexual harassers are at workplace, universities, everywhere regardless of creed, color, or country.