Health Ministry 'Fully Involved' in Implementing Territorial Protocol for Gender-Based Violence Victims

01 June 2022 Printable Version

Rabat - The Ministry of Health and Social Protection is fully involved in the proper implementation of the Territorial Protocol to provide care for women and girls victims of violence, said Wednesday, Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Ait Taleb.

In a speech read on his behalf at a coordination meeting for the monitoring of the implementation of the Territorial Protocol to provide care for women victims of violence organized over two days by the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor's Office, Ait Taleb said that the Ministry was involved very early in the fight against violence as well as in the care of victims, knowing that it represents a public health problem.

In this regard, the Minister mentioned achievements in this field, such as strengthening institutional framework and the harmonization of standards and scientific and technical systems of care for women and girls victims of violence.

He further noted that Morocco has been able to improve the indicators related to the number of cases of women and girls victims of violence taken care of by hospitals at the national level.

The number of women taken care of by the integrated units within hospitals has experienced a great evolution from 8,355 cases in 2012 to 22,991 in 2020 and 24,444 in 2021, he stressed.

For her part, UN Women Representative in Morocco Leila Rhiwi said that the institutionalization of coordination at all levels of governance is a guarantee of efficiency, underlying that an efficient response to the needs of women requires a coordinated and institutional intervention.

A coordinated intervention contributes to the protection of victims, she said, stressing that the exchange of information between responsible sectors leads to a reduction in the number of times victims are asked to tell their stories; an approach that, according to her, mitigates their suffering and avoids their exposure to trauma.

Participants in this meeting, marked by the presence of judicial officials, representatives of departments and bodies concerned and civil society, discuss means to improve judicial investigations and their relevance to the specificity of crimes of violence against women, improving access of women victims to security and judicial services and simplification of procedures, as well as strengthening the role of different actors in the implementation of victim protection.