Launch of the Global Boys Initiative: Boys In Morocco Report

MOROCCO—In collaboration with AMANE, ECPAT International is proud to announce the release of the latest report from the Global Boys Initiative: Morocco Report. This is the tenth in a series of ten country reports that explores the underreported issue of the sexual exploitation of boys. The Global Boys Initiative aims to improve global knowledge; inform legislative efforts to protect boys and gender-diverse children from sexual exploitation; and coordinate efforts to develop tools and guidance on how to effectively work with boys. 

Detailed surveys with Moroccan frontline service providers were conducted, as well as a comprehensive analysis of how the Moroccan legal framework addresses the sexual abuse and exploitation of boys. The report explores which factors put boys in Morocco at risk of sexual exploitation, uncovers gaps in child protection legislation, and outlines what needs to change. 

Key findings discussed in the report include: 

• How poverty and its consequences place boys at risk of sexual exploitation?
  Boys experiencing poverty may be forced to drop out of school and/or live, work, or spend time on the streets, where they might end up involved in street-based prostitution.  

• How gender stereotypes keep boys silent about sexual violence?
  The assumption that boys cannot be sexually exploited because they are ‘strong’ discourages boys from opening up, for fear of being seen as weak. They also reinforce feelings of self-blame and shame that male victims tend to experience. 

• How Moroccan legislation fails to comprehensively protect boys from sexual violence?
  Gender-biased laws do not recognise boys as victims of sexual exploitation, making them ineligible for protective measures and recovery programmes. 

• How support services need to be strengthened to better support boys who have been sexually exploited?
  While there are no dedicated support and reintegration programmes for boys, existing services face resource, training, and capacity constraints that make it difficult to provide boys with the care they need. Frontline workers emphasised an urgent need for more psychological support services for child victims of sexual exploitation. 

Read the full report here.
Read the summary here.

For more information, please contact: communications@ecpat.org 

About the Global Boys Initiative: 

At the 2016 Global Survivors Forum organised by ECPAT International, male survivor-advocates of sexual exploitation explained that services for boys were extremely rare, and even where services may include boys in their work, there is limited focus on addressing the specific characteristics, experiences and supports required by boys. 

In 2019 to delve into this, ECPAT co-authored an academic paper that looked at the global situation of sexual exploitation of boys. It showed that despite a growing global awareness that boys do experience sexual exploitation, and at greater rates than previously recognised, there is limited research available to fully tell this story. 

As the programmatic responses to identify and meet the particular needs of boys are scarce, ECPAT International launched the Global Initiative to explore the sexual exploitation of boys which activates our global network of member organisations in a range of research and response activities. 

Learn more about the Global Boys Initiative here. 

About ECPAT International: 

ECPAT International is a global network of over 122 civil society organisations, in over 100 countries, working towards the vision of ending the sexual exploitation of children. With over 30 years of experience in engaging with and managing multi-stakeholder processes and alliances across national, regional and global levels; ECPAT works to end the sexual exploitation of children. 

About AMANE: