Bringing bus drivers on board against sexual harassment in Marrakesh

In cities across the world, women and girls experience and fear various types of sexual violence in public spaces, most notably in public transport, as reported by users. In Morocco, according to a national survey conducted by the High Commissioner of Planning in 2009, over 63 per cent of women living in urban areas reported that they had experienced some form of violence in public spaces, including on public transport, in the past year.

The “Marrakesh: Safe and Friendly City for All” programme began interventions in 2012 to develop, implement, and test a local Safe City approach to prevent and respond to sexual harassment against women and girls, and other forms of violence in public spaces in some of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Marrakesh. A committee was created to engage a wide range of partners: women’s grass-roots organizations, the Wilaya (provincial government), the district office, the Municipality of Marrakech, several national ministries, local NGOs such as the Institut Marocain pour le Développement Local, and UNICEF.

In March 2015, UN Women Morocco developed a new partnership with private bus company ALSA, and is working to integrate the issue of sexual violence prevention in ALSA‘s drivers' training modules. Under the agreement bus and taxi drivers will be trained and sensitization videos on sexual harassment will be broadcast on the buses’ screens.

This video showcasing interventions in Marrakesh, has been produced by UN Women with support from the Spanish Agency for Development Cooperation (AECID), which is currently funding the Marrakesh Safe City programme.