A Moroccan university professor has been sentenced to two years in prison for "indecent assault with violence" in a case of sexual blackmail against female students in exchange for good grades.
According to local media, the professor of economics at Hassan I University in Settat was found guilty of "indecent assault", "violence" and "sexual harassment" before the criminal chamber of the Court of Appeal of this city near Casablanca.
One
of the complainants has waived all legal proceedings in exchange for compensation
of 70,000 dirhams (6,640 euros), they said.
The
economics professor is not the only one involved in this scandal which has
become the talk of the town. Four other university professors, two of whom are
on bail, are due to appear in court, tomorrow.
They
face heavy charges of "incitement to debauchery", "gender
discrimination", "violence against women".
Due
to this scandal, the dean of the Faculty of Law and Economics in Settat
resigned at the end of November.
The
"sex for good grades" scandal had earlier in September been reported
by local media after an exchange of messages with sexual content between a
lecturer and a student went viral on social network
In
recent years, several cases of sexual harassment of female students by their
professors in Moroccan universities have been reported in the media, but often
without complaints being filed. And when they were, most of them were not
followed up.
In
2019, Ghana’s investigative journalist, Anas revealed a 54-minute documentary
that chronicled how academics targets the most vulnerable female students:
those struggling with studies, seeking admission or in search of mentors to
have sex with them. the documentary was focused on the situation in Ghana and
Nigeria.
In
2018, after years of heated debate, a law came into force. For the first time,
it makes acts "considered as forms of harassment, assault, sexual
exploitation or ill-treatment" punishable by prison sentences.
However,
the text has been judged "insufficient" by women's rights movements,
which are calling for greater severity in dealing with this scourge.
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