The Price of a Child - Morocco’s Silent Victims

Every morning I open my window and the early morning light hits the mountains of Morocco, bathing them with splendour and natural beauty that is a glory to behold. These majestic peaks however, hide a very dark face, one that I have only just learnt.

Morocco has become a “sex paradise” for child prostitution and sex tourism by Europeans. A “Special Investigation” documentary entitled “The price of a child” broadcast last Thursday by Spanish TV station Antena 3 cast the spotlight on this huge problem that is happening right under our noses. Undercover reporters crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on a ferry and travelled around Morocco for several months, investigating whether this phenomenon was real or not. What they discovered makes for uncomfortable viewing.

There Is the story of Hana, an adolescent 16 year old boy that sneaks out at night to prostitute himself in the Jamaa Fna plaza of Marrakech. Such is poverty’s desperation. Zaida , a 12 year old girl who sells her body after school. Also featured was an 11-year-old boy - sadly the list is endless. What is the price of these children’s’ innocence? 10€ (Approx. $15). These reporters meet up with a Spaniard who has practically lived in Morocco for 16 years because of the easy access to sex with minors.

Although the Government has introduced legislation to deal with this scourge (and in spite of the fact that Islamic beliefs prohibit sexual relations outside of marriage), it is sadly common knowledge that if 10€ is the price of a child, then €40 is the price of a police officer. They turn a blind eye, their €40 in hand, and this violation of the sanctity of a child’s innocence proceeds unabated. Un-enforced legislation is about as valuable as the paper it is printed on.

These children are not making an objective decision to engage in sexual activity. They are being driven to desperate measures, helped along by ruthless Europeans who are travelling to this “sex paradise” and cajoled by their handlers who encourage and incite these youngsters to sell themselves for a quick buck.

We have a moral obligation within our society to send a strong signal that we find this practice unacceptable, and we demand that our government takes appropriate measures to protect these minors and punish anyone who encourages or incites others to travel to Morocco for the purpose of engaging in underage sex.

What can our government do? According to ECPAT, in the UK, the legislation has been made pretty clear:

British tourists who commit sexual offences in Morocco can also be prosecuted in the UK for crimes committed while abroad. Under the UK Sexual Offences Act, 2003, article 72, persons can be prosecuted for a crime that is viewed as a criminal offence in both countries. Therefore, if tourists sexually abuse a child in Morocco, they can be tried in the UK as both countries legislate against this offence. This Act is intended to cover crimes that may be committed by the traveller against either a travelling child companion or a child living in the country, but in which the crime is not detected until returning to the UK. Additionally, the Sexual Offences (Conspiracy and Incitement) Act, 1996, allows for the prosecution of those who conspire to commit a sexual offence outside the UK, or incite someone else to commit the offence. Therefore if one person either helps or pushes another to commit the offence, they too can be prosecuted in the UK

Last time I checked, Gibraltar had no equivalent of these laws. It is not clear whether Spain has any such legislation in place.

How many more Zaida’s will have to send up a silent and unheeded cry of desperation? Within Morocco, it is lewd and deviant lifestyles like these that play into the hands of radical islamic fundamentalists who fire up their rhetoric and exhort their fellow muslims to replace their wayward ways with sharia law. How long will it be until the for-now fringe message starts to make sense to the masses? Is this a slippery slope to theocracy? Such is Morocco’s plight.

Technorati Tags: Morocco, Child Prostitution, Sex Tourism

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