Tài liệu Adolescent and Youth Reproductive Health In Morocco doc

1

Introduction



This assessment of adolescent reproductive health (ARH) in Morocco is part of a series of assessments in
13 countries in Asia and the Near East.
1
The purpose of the assessments is to highlight the reproductive
health status of adolescents in each country, within the context of the lives of adolescent boys and girls.
The report begins with the social context and gender socialization that set girls and boys on separate
lifetime paths in terms of life expectations, educational attainment, job prospects, labor force
participation, reproduction, and duties in the household. The report also outlines laws and policies that
pertain to ARH and discusses information and service delivery programs that provide reproductive health
information and services to adolescents. The report identifies operational barriers to ARH and ends with
recommendations for action to improve ARH in Morocco.

Adolescents comprise about 20 percent of Morocco’s population, or 6.2 million (ages 15–24). Estimates
indicate that the 15–24 age group will continue to grow until 2010 peaking at around 6.8 million, and will
then decline to about 6.4 million by 2020 (Figure 1). Overall girls’ educational attainment is increasing.
Between 1992 and 1995, the percent of girls with no education decreased from 50 to 46 percent. Girls’
secondary and higher educational attainment increased between 1992 and 1995, from 29 percent to 33
percent, respectively (Figure 2). Twice as many boys (ages 15–24) participate in the labor force
compared with girls. About 1.7 million boys are employed, compared to about 800,000 girls. Yet almost
three times as many boys are unemployed compared with girls; 315,000 compared with 129,000 (Figure
3). Total pregnancies and births continue to increase for girls (ages 15–24), but will peak in 2010. By
2020, an estimated 330,000 pregnancies among adolescents will lead to about 250,000 births (Figure 4).
Data indicate that unmet need for family planning is declining for girls between the ages of 15 and 24. In
1995, unmet need was calculated at 11.8 percent for 15–19 year olds and 12.2 percent for 20–24 year olds
(Figure 5).

As with other countries in North Africa and the Middle East, one of the most striking features affecting
policies and programs as well as popular attitudes and practices in Morocco is the powerful influence of
Islam. It is ubiquitous and closely linked to policy, and in Morocco the constitution states that the
country is an Islamic state. One detects a widespread disinclination among policymakers and the various
political parties to even raise ARH issues as a topic of policy or public debate for fear of incurring
opposition from Islamic leaders and parties.
2
Departing from this norm and breaking the silence on this
issue, however, and perhaps hinting at things to come, one of the king’s aunts spoke out last year on
AIDS in Morocco.
3
In fact, it is being argued that perhaps Muslim leaders’ positions on family planning
are not always interpreted correctly; these leaders may, in fact, be no more opposed to reproductive health
programs than are other members of society.
4


Muslim culture directly affects programs and policies involving ARH, and it shapes ARH issues and
challenges to a great extent. Islamic law, for instance, condemns prostitution, homosexuality, and sex
outside of marriage. Consequently, their occurrence is not readily acknowledged and there is reticence all
the way from inside the family to program managers and policymakers to address them.
5
Interestingly,
the interpretation of the Koran presents both challenges and opportunities for ARH programs, policies,
and public opinion in the region. For instance, while some religious scholars in Morocco oppose

1
The countries included in the analysis are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco,
Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.
2
National STD and AIDS Control Program, 2001; Kattiri, Jebbor, and Oubnichou, 2001; Maasri, 2001.
3
Pelham, 2001.
4
Various interviews; Underwood, 2000.
5
Various interviews.
1

2
sexuality education and condom promotion for unmarried youth as a transgression of the Koran,
6
others
stress that the hadith
7
includes clear guidelines for sexuality education.
8
The hadith also mandates good
health, economic stability, and social standing as prerequisites for marriage, ostensibly discouraging
precipitous decisions leading to early marriage for which the man, at least, is not prepared.
9


While there are significant cultural differences among the countries of North Africa and the Middle East,
which translate into different reproductive health policies,
10
it may be useful to look at other countries in
the region to gain some insight into the situation and opportunities in Morocco. Some countries have
fatwas
11
that require taking care of marginalized groups,
12
which seemingly could include subpopulations
of adolescents. In Iran, where in the late 1980s religious leaders running the country introduced an
extensive family planning program, fatwas declare that family planning methods in general, and oral
contraceptives, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and tubal ligation specifically are allowed.
13
In Egypt, which
since the 1960s has had a population policy aimed at reducing demographic growth, all major family
planning/reproductive health projects engage religious leaders as allies.
14
Yet, while the family planning
field in that country has found strong allies in religious authorities and many Muslim “scholars have
supported family planning in Egypt since the 1930s, other leaders with popular bases of support have
condemned the practice as ‘un-Islamic,’” and conflicting messages about the “religious legitimacy of
family planning” may be undermining the efforts of the government’s population program.
15
In any case,
social development cannot be separated from religion,
16
and experience in Islamic countries shows that
the success of reproductive health programs depends in large part on whether they can establish a reliable
alliance with religious leaders.

What may be most interesting in terms of ARH policy and programs in Morocco is what appears to be
underway. The new and modern king, H.M. Mohamed VI, and his administration have indicated that
improving the status of women and youth are priorities, although the government is moving slowly and
with trepidation in the face of strong, opposing forces of Islamic parties. Government institutions are
equally cautious, so while they sometimes push ahead onto new ground, they also censor themselves.
However, a new and powerful movement, which runs counter to custom and Islamic parties and is gaining
important popular support, represents an innovative agenda to improve women’s status and promote
reproductive health.

In terms of programs, there are a number of public sector activities targeting youth, but these approaches
are not institutionalized. One finds a big gap in which there might be programs implemented to provide
ARH information and services. Interestingly, and not unlike Tunisia, Moroccan ministries tend to
encourage nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to target populations and problems that they,
themselves, dare not address. NGOs, which are not under the same scrutiny of Islamic parties and other
traditionalist forces as is the government, are the leaders in the ARH arena in Morocco in terms of paving
the road to tackle forbidden topics if not in their reach and capacity. The challenge for NGOs may be that
they do not have enough depth in terms of skilled staff, or enough resources for extensive programs.

6
Dialmy, 2000b; National STD and AIDS Control Program, 2001.
7
Traditional account of what the Prophet Mohamed and his companions said and did.
8
National STD and AIDS Control Program, 2001; various Agadir workshop participants.
9
Graigaa, 2001.
10
For a brief summary and examples of these differences, see Fathalla, 2002.
11
Theological decisions made and declared by a Muslim legal advisor (mufti) who is consulted for the application
of religious law.
12
National STD and AIDS Control Program, 2001.
13
Dungus, 2000.
14
Croll and Kamal 2001; National Population Council and Options II Project, 1994.
15
Ibrahim and Ibrahim, 1998, p. 41.
16
Yaish, 2001; ISIAPFW, 1990.

3

ARH indicators in Morocco


Note: See Appendix 1 for the data for Figures 1 through 5
Figure 1. Total Adolescent Population
(Ages 15-24)
0
1,500
3,000
4,500
6,000
7,500
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
(000's)
Males Females

Figure 2. Years of Education Completed
(Ages 15-24)
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
1992 Females 1995 Females
Percent
No Education Primary Secondary and Higher

Figure 3. Employment by Sex
(Ages 15-24)
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
Men Women
(000's)
Unemployed Employed

Figure 4. Annual Pregnancies and
Outcomes
(Ages 15-24)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
(000's)
Births Abortions Miscarriages

Figure 5. Total Unmet Need for FP
(Ages 15-24)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1992 ENPS-II 1995 EPPS
Percent
15-19 20-24


4

Social context of ARH



Gender socialization

Morocco is by tradition a patriarchal society, although the society is in a state of noticeable transition.
Nevertheless, girls and women are under the guardianship of males from birth until death.
17
Early on,
girls discover that they are second to their brothers. From a young age, girls have to assume adult
responsibilities, starting with domestic chores, whereas boys can enjoy a more leisurely childhood.
Imposing these responsibilities on girls is part of the process of raising them to become good wives. Girls
grow up aspiring to marriage and motherhood. They are instilled with the belief that their bodies are the
source of somewhat mysterious problems, and they are ordered to remain “pure” (virgins) until they
marry. Girls’ movements are much more restricted than those of boys, who enjoy considerable freedoms
at home and in the street. In rural areas, girls follow closely in the footsteps of the mothers and aunts who
raise them, although young women’s attitudes are now diverging from tradition as they are exposed to
new ideas on television. In urban areas, where families are becoming less patriarchal and more nuclear so
that the influence of grandmothers is waning, young women are moving away from the customs of their
mothers’ and grandmothers’ generations. This is especially true among girls and young women with
higher levels of education.
18


In many cases, young women do not choose their husbands; a marriage is arranged by the couple’s
families. Not uncommon, either, is a type of “shotgun” marriage between a woman and the man who has
deflowered her and/or made her pregnant. Once the couple marries, there is social pressure on them to
bear children right away and hence prove the woman’s fertility, which is considered an important virtue.
The possibility that a man may be infertile does not readily enter the equation. A wife’s duties are to be
faithful and obedient to her husband and in-laws while the husband has the power to repudiate her and
take up to three more wives. In addition, chari’a law makes wives the property of their husbands. A
woman is forbidden from having sexual relations with anyone other than her husband; premarital and
extramarital sex is strongly condemned and the consequences for a woman who does engage in this
behavior are severe.
19


Homosexuality:
20
In Morocco, sex between men is strongly condemned, illegal, and tagged as an
“unnatural act” that is punishable by up to six months in prison. It is considered immoral and perverse;
the Arabic word for homosexuality is choudoud, which literally means perversion. As part of its health
education curriculum, the Ministry of Youth and Sports emphasizes teaching young adults about the
danger and depravity of what they call “unnatural sex acts” (homosexual acts). Unlike in the West, men
who have sex with men do not identify themselves as homosexual. The act is separate from their identity.
What may shape the sexual identity of a man who has sex with men is whether he is the “active” or
“passive” partner. In the latter case, he may, indeed, be considered homosexual but in a strictly
deprecatory way. The passiveness in this context is considered the antithesis of manliness and any
homosexual act is censured by public opinion and Islam.
21



17
LDDF, 2000.
18
Guessous, 2000.
19
Ech-Channa, 2000; Dialmy, 2000b; Belouali and Guédira, 1998; LDDF, 2000.
20
Studies of lesbian identity and sexuality in Morocco appear to be absent from public health discourse.
21
Dialmy, 2000a; Dialmy, 2000b; Boushaba and Himmich, 2000; Mounabih, 2001.
2

5
Education

Increasing literacy and access to education have become priorities for the Moroccan government, which
recognizes education as a universal right.
22
Over one-fourth (26 %) of the national budget is allocated to
the Ministry of Education. Social indicators show fairly rapid improvements in literacy and education
thanks to the efforts of government and nongovernmental institutions. Illiteracy among adolescents
declined about six percentage points in the second half of the 1990s. Still, illiteracy remains too
common—over one-third (35.7 %) of 15–24 year-olds were in illiterate in 1999 (down from 41.6 % in
1994).
23
There is also a large gender gap in this area, with literacy rates in Morocco at 62 percent for men
and 36 percent for women ages 15 and older.
24
(Between 1982 and 1994, there was no improvement in
the gender gap in literacy rates among adolescents; the proportion of illiteracy among girls was almost
twice that of boys.
25
)

While access to education also improved in the late 1990s,
26
there is, as with literacy, a gender gap in
school attendance. The secondary school enrollment ratio is 44 percent for males and 34 percent for
females, and the primary school level attendance is 94 percent for males and 76 percent for females.
27

The gender gap appears to be closing more quickly in cities. In Casablanca from 1994 to 1999, for
example, the difference between the proportion of 13–19 year-old males and females with some education
dropped from nearly six percentage points to less than two.
28


Employment

The lower levels of education, especially among girls, raise the question of what youth do if they don’t
attend school. Girls may be required to stay at home to help around the house. In the rural areas, starting
at age five to six, girls are also regularly sent to cities to work as live-in domestic help for families that are
more well-to-do.
29
The experience is often fraught with its own set of problems for the young girls,
including physical and sexual abuse and the forfeiture of opportunities to improve their socioeconomic
situation.
30
In cities, young women are increasingly finding work in factories, which do not require a high
level of education but instead conduct on-the-job training.
31
Two popular choices for young men are the
cottage industry and manual labor.
32


Unemployment is considered one of the most significant socioeconomic problems facing young adults in
Morocco today, and its effects extend into the sexual and reproductive lives of Moroccans.
33
Around the
Middle East and North Africa, unemployment is highest among young people and women; women in this
region face the highest rate of unemployment in the world.
34
Among Morocco’s youth, 24.1 percent of

22
Belouali and Guédira, 1998.
23
MPEP, 1999.
24
UNICEF, 2002.
25
CERED, 2000.
26
MPEP, 1999.
27
UNICEF, 2002. These are gross enrollment ratios, which are the number of children enrolled in a level (primary
or secondary) regardless of their age, divided by the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the
same level. In contrast, the net primary school enrollment ratio is the number of children enrolled in primary school
who belong to the age group that officially corresponds to primary schooling, divided by the total population of the
same age group. In Morocco, the net primary school enrollment ratios are 64 for girls and 77 for boys.
28
CERED, 2000.
29
Guessous, 2000.
30
Ech-Channa, 2000; Dialmy, 2000b.
31
Guessous, 2000.
32
CERED, 2000.
33
Tazi Benabderrazik, 2002.
34
ILO 2000, cited in Roudy, 2001.

6
20–24 year-olds and 16.3 percent of 15–19 year-olds are unemployed. Unemployment rates are highest
among youth with secondary- or higher-level education at 40.5 percent. These young adults are
unemployed, on average, for over three years (nearly 39 months).
35


Sexuality and marriage

Types of marriage: Traditional Moroccan marriages, which are the norm, reflect families’ desires to
preserve their economic and symbolic patrimony through the union of couples from the same social,
professional, cultural, religious, or tribal group. Therefore, while it is not as common as in other Arab
countries, endogamy (marriage—typically arranged by the families—between blood relations) is still
fairly widely practiced in Morocco. In 1995, 29 percent of marriages were consanguineous (down from
33 percent in 1987).
36
Marriage of a couple with similar social, cultural, or professional backgrounds is
very common, particularly in rural areas. But the more educated an individual, the more likely she or he
is to marry someone outside her or his village or immediate social, cultural or professional circles.
37


Polygamy is sanctioned by Islam and practiced in Morocco, although to a limited extent, and the custom
appears to be on the decline. Polygamy aggravates women’s already subordinate status. It is charged
with leading to women’s flight from marriage, their clandestine emigration from Morocco, “white
marriages” (marriages that are official but do not involve intimate relations between legal spouses and are
often used as a mechanism to get women into prostitution rings), and the proliferation of al moutaa
marriages (“marriages of pleasure” or mariages de jouissance).
38


Al moutaa marriages are clandestine marriages also practiced in Iran and are the Moroccan cousin of the
phenomenon called orfi in Egypt. Young men who do not have the financial means for a wedding or a
household use al moutaa as a way to have sexual relations that are legitimate under Islam. For marriage,
chari’a law requires only that the wife have an adult male guardian there to witness the union, and there
be some kind of dowry. However, these marriages are not legitimate under state law (“personal status
law”) and they are usually clandestine, excluding the couple’s families and networks of support. In these
unions, the couple does not even live together. Typically, al moutaa is the choice of young Islamic men
who dare not engage in premarital sexual relations.
39


Age of marriage: Islam encourages early marriage. At the same time, the hadith calls on young men to
be prepared for marriage before they embark on it: “Oh youth, he among you who is capable of ba’a
[being sexually and reproductively healthy and competent and able to take care of and support a wife], be
married.”
40
In fact, the mean age at marriage in Morocco has risen dramatically to 26.4 years in 1997
(27.8 in cities and 24.7 in rural areas).
41
The principal factor delaying marriage is the high rate of
unemployment among young adults, although there are other reasons that are not all necessarily
understood.
42
Early marriage, traditionally the norm in Morocco, is a manifestation of patriarchal culture
in which there is an almost immediate, direct transition from childhood to adulthood without passing
through a stage marked by formal education and remunerative work. Increasingly, however, people
consider adolescence as a period of immaturity before preparing to take on the responsibilities of
marriage and as a time of growth during which they gain and learn from sexual, romantic, and other

35
MPEP, 1999.
36
MSP, 1987; MSP, 1995.
37
Tazi Benabderrazik, 2002.
38
LDDF, 2000.
39
Dialmy, 2000b; LDDF, 2000.
40
Dialmy, 2000b, p. 200.
41
Tazi Benabderrazik, 2002.
42
Dialmy, 2000b; AMPF/Experdata, 1995; Cakir, 2001.

7
experiences.
43
A survey of adolescents in Casablanca found that their ideal age at marriage was between
22 and 28 years of age. Men and women considered 26 and 27.5, respectively, the ideal age at marriage
for men while they considered 22 and 23, respectively, the ideal age at marriage for women.
44


The rising age at marriage in Morocco indicates that marriage during adolescence is becoming less
common. In 1960, nine of every 10 young women ages 20–24 years and four of every 10 ages 15–19
were married; almost 40 years later, only four of every 10 young women (39 %) ages 20–24 and just over
one of every 10 young women (13%) ages 15–19 were married. A study of urban adolescents in 1999
found even more striking figures: less than 6 percent of women and less than 1 percent of men married
before the age of 20, down from less than 18 percent and 3 percent, respectively, in 1994.
45
A national
survey of maternal and child health in 1997 found that while nearly half (45%) of women ages 45–49 had
married by the time they were 18 years old, only 16 percent of those ages 20–24 had married by their
eighteenth birthday.
46
Coupled with a lack of services and information for unmarried youth, this delayed
age at marriage signifies that there is typically a long period of time when young persons may be sexually
active but not covered by targeted, youth-friendly services.
47


Sexual activity: A qualitative study of Moroccan youth living in Morocco (some of whom had returned
from abroad) and France suggested that young women are particularly inclined to reject early marriage
because they want a chance to “date” men before being trapped in a marriage that may be unsatisfying.
Although according to Islam a man’s sexual dissatisfaction is grounds for obtaining a divorce, this is not a
socially accepted reason for separation, but it is not uncommon for married men to have extramarital
relationships. For women, however, extramarital sex is severely scorned and the consequences are
severe—rejection by her husband and family, loss of custody of her children, and social condemnation,
eventually leading some to prostitution.
48


The young women’s thoughts about delaying marriage seem to reflect rapidly changing sexual behaviors
and attitudes among young people. Sexual activity can now be characterized by behaviors that were
inconceivable in Morocco 40 years ago such as premarital sex, male prostitution, and having multiple
partners. Part of this change is speculated to be a reaction, manifested as the pursuit of freedom through
the private world of sexuality, to political and social oppression. In addition, in the absence of sexuality
education at school or at home, adolescents are taking it upon themselves to learn about sex through their
own explorations and experimentation. The precariousness of the lives of young people, the decline in
income, and high unemployment are other factors considered to be fostering sexual risk-taking.
49


Awareness and social acceptance of the sexual activity of young adults in Morocco lag far behind the
process of change in their sexual attitudes and behaviors. Government institutions shy away from

43
Dialmy, 2000b.
44
CERED, 2000.
45
CERED 2000.
46
MSP and LEA, 1990.
47
Cakir, 2001; Mounabih, 2001.
48
Dialmy, 2000b.
49
Dialmy, 2000b.

8
discussion or study of adolescent sexuality and any efforts undertaken in this area – and they are rare –
must be discreet, unofficial, and executed by private individuals and organizations.



9

ARH issues



Premarital sexual activity: The rising age at marriage and young people’s rapidly changing attitudes
about sexuality mean that more young adults are sexually active and are sexually active—presumably for
longer periods of time—before marriage.
50
However, popular attitudes still condemn unmarried women’s
sexual activity, judging women who are sexually active to be prostitutes, regardless of whether or not
material gain is involved and even if their only sexual encounter was forced on them.
51
Great value is
placed on a woman’s virginity until she marries, and in the current marriage certificate the bride’s father
declares to the groom, “I give you as a bride my daughter who is still a virgin.”
52
Consequently, there is
strong resistance to protecting young women from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections (STIs), as these are seen as the price a young woman has to pay for being deviant and as a
deterrent to premarital sexual activity. Interestingly, however, in what may reflect changing social
attitudes about young women’s sexuality and reproductive health, a study of junior civil servants from
several government ministries in cities around Morocco found that in Rabat, the majority was in favor of
allowing young, unmarried women access to contraception and STI prevention.
53
In the other cities,
however, the majority of participants did not believe in providing young, unmarried women access to
reproductive health services.

Premarital sexual activity among young Moroccans is characterized by sex with multiple partners (either
in succession or simultaneously); the relative stability of monogamy appears to be uncommon. This
would appear to build the kind of sexual networks that can fuel the spread of STIs and an HIV epidemic
in Morocco.
54


Contraception: Data on contraceptive use by sexually active, unmarried adolescents are unavailable.
Awareness of contraception among urban youth is high; a qualitative study of adolescents in Casablanca
found that nearly 85 percent of adolescents ages 13–19 knew of at least one method). Awareness is
highest among youth with the most advanced levels of education. Conversely, awareness is low among
illiterate youth, with more than a third of these adolescents ages 13–19 not knowing any method of family
planning.
55
However, adequate knowledge of contraception is severely lacking, and youth are starved for
more information about sexual and reproductive health.
56


Unplanned pregnancy: The rising age at marriage and the longer periods of premarital sexual activity,
combined with young persons’ inadequate reproductive health knowledge and difficulty in accessing
services and family planning methods, leads to what are believed to be high rates of unplanned
pregnancy. Subsequently, because of the disgrace that unwed pregnancy represents, and the social,
economic and legal difficulties that unwed mothers have to face, illegal abortion is quite common. Rough
estimates indicate that 130,000 to 150,000 illegal abortions are performed each year, most of them for
young women.
57
Some consider access to abortion much easier for, and relatively more common among,
women with higher socioeconomic standing in Morocco.
58



50
From various interviews; Dialmy, 2000b.
51
Dialmy, 2000a.
52
Ech-Channa, 2000, p. 145.
53
Dialmy, 2000a.
54
Dialmy, 2000b.
55
CERED, 2000.
56
AMPF/Experdata, 1995.
57
Fauveau, 2001.
58
Various interviews; Tazi Benabderrazik, 2002.
3

10
Unmarried, pregnant girls and women are shunned, rejected by their families and communities, and
sometimes abused for bearing an “illegitimate” child. Giving birth only exacerbates the problem. The
children of unwed mothers suffer legal and concomitant social and economic consequences because,
without a confirmed father, they do not have a legal identity. Without this, they are “non-persons” who
are denied basic rights such as access to health care and education. Obtaining legal papers that establish a
baby’s identify is difficult, and the barriers to a single mother obtaining the papers, combined with social
disapproval of her motherhood, can be a strong deterrent to obtaining the legal papers.
59


In the event that a child doesn’t have a care-giving mother, chari’a law provides for the maternal
grandmother to become the baby’s primary caretaker. However, the shame attached to a birth out of
wedlock often scares away the mother’s family from caring for the child. Single mothers often choose to
abandon their infants. Until recently, they typically did this at hospitals, but recent legislative changes
now require unwed mothers to obtain court permission to give up her baby. These young women, fearful
of the law and intimidated by the legal system, are therefore more likely to give birth out of sight from
state institutions—outside the health care system—resulting in more high-risk deliveries. This is
compounded by stigmatization of unwed mothers so severe that social service institutions sometimes
deny help to these mothers and even report them to the police.
60


Consanguineous marriage: The still-common practice of consanguineous marriage has two effects.
Such arranged marriages reinforce the control the husband’s family has over the young married couple,
which can be especially difficult for the wife and even contribute to separation and divorce. This type of
marriage also has health repercussions because it increases the risk of genetic defects in the couple’s
children.
61


Prostitution: Perhaps more than the other countries in the region, sexual behavior patterns in Morocco,
including informal and formal prostitution, contribute to a high risk of STIs and HIV among young
people and make the country vulnerable to a full-blown HIV/AIDS epidemic.
62
Morocco is becoming an
important location for those seeking sex workers. Prostitution is both heterosexual and homosexual and
sex workers are young. One study of male prostitution found the average age of sex workers at first paid
sexual contact to be 15 years.

Unemployment, poverty, migration, urbanization, the tourism industry, students’ need for financial
support, and the common practice among boys and young men of seeking the services of a sex worker,
particularly to initiate their sexual lives, lead to high levels of formal and informal prostitution.
63

Historically it has been common for young men to initiate their sexual activity through the services of a
sex worker, although this practice may be declining as young women become sexually more active prior
to marriage. Nevertheless, it is by no means unusual for young men – both those residing in Europe and
returning to Morocco on vacations and those who have stayed in Morocco – to seek the services of sex
workers. In addition, informal prostitution has been on the increase since the country embarked on a
program of structural adjustment starting in 1983. Informal prostitution can include the growing practice
of young women using sex to gain material benefits, however modest, or young men and women using
sex to emigrate with foreigners or Moroccans living abroad.
64


A study by the Association de Lutte Contre le Sida (ACLS, the AIDS Prevention Association, an NGO)
in Casablanca and Marrakech confirmed the existence of male prostitution in Morocco. Traditionally,

59
Tazi, 2001; Ech-Channa, 2000; Joutei, 2001.
60
Ech-Channa, 2000; Joutei, 2001.
61
MSP, 1995.
62
National STD and AIDS Control Program, 2001, various participants form the Agadir workshop.
63
Boushaba and Himmich, 2000.
64
Dialmy, 2000b; AMPF/Experdata, 1995.

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