Stop being far too lenient with rapists.

A deep shock shook Moroccan public opinion last week after the verdict against three criminals involved in the crime of rape and defloration of an eleven-year-old minor girl. The mitigating sentence is disproportionate to the seriousness of the compounded crime committed against the victim.
The victim s family didn t expect the lenient sentence issued by the court, which was closer to an acquittal than a conviction. The verdict has disappointed the family regarding the integrity of judges, fairness of the court, and rigor of the law to impose penalties that deter criminals, reduce crimes, reassure families about their children, and protect them from rape. None of these expectations were achieved because of the operative verdict, which bears strong indications of the presence of some judges who have not yet understood the serious physical, psychological, and social effects of the crime of rape on the victim and her family in a society dominated by jurisprudence that is hostile to women. This jurisprudence allows society to acquit rapists and exempt them from all responsibilities. It s why the law refuses to recognize the child s biological father. Hence, this verdict constitutes a strong offense to Moroccan justice in that it makes the judiciary appear to be complicit with criminals, sympathetic to rapists, and even protecting them.
There is absolutely no reason to take into account any psychological, social,´-or-physical circumstance to mitigate punishment against perpetrators. All of them are adults, sane, and aware of the seriousness of their actions. Despite being a father of three children, the eldest of the criminals kept raping the victim for eight months until her pregnancy appeared. He was stripped of all feelings of fatherhood and human sensibilities. These criminals did not commit their heinous crimes to get out of poverty´-or-hunger, nor under the influence of psychological´-or-mental illness, in order to benefit from a reduced sentence. It s obvious that the minor s age excludes completely the element of consent and acceptance of sexual intercourse with the perpetrators.
Unfortunately, the judges who handed down this decision did not take into consideration its serious impact on national public opinion and women s organizations that have struggled for decades to protect women s rights and eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against them. Through this neglect, these judges gave an impression to the world that the dignity of Moroccan women is not equivalent to the dignity of women in Western countries.
According to official statistics, the average of rape cases in Morocco has risen from 800 cases per year to more than 1600 cases in 2017, exceeding 2800 sexual assaults on minors in 2018. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the rape penalty and eliminate all mitigating conditions.

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