title: Sexual violence and sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco: a community-based participatory assessment using respondent driven sampling.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The European Union contracted Morocco to regulate migration from so-called “transit migrants” from Morocco to Europe via the European Neighbourhood Policy. Yet, international organisations signal that human, asylum and refugee rights are not upheld in Morocco and that many sub-Saharan migrants suffer from ill-health and violence. Hence, our study aimed at 1) investigating the nature of violence that sub-Saharan migrants experience around and in Morocco, 2) assessing which determinants they perceive as decisive and 3) formulating prevention recommendations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Applying Community-Based Participatory Research, we trained twelve sub-Saharan migrants as Community Researchers to conduct in-depth interviews with peers, using Respondent Driven Sampling. We used Nvivo 8 to analyse the data. We interpreted results with Community Researchers and the Community Advisory Board and commonly formulated prevention recommendations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 154 (60 F-94 M) sub-Saharan migrants interviewed, 90% reported cases of multiple victimizations, 45% of which was sexual, predominantly gang rape. Seventy-nine respondents were personally victimized, 41 were forced to witness how relatives or co-migrants were victimized and 18 others knew of peer victimisation. Severe long lasting ill-health consequences were reported while sub-Saharan victims are not granted access to the official health care system. Perpetrators were mostly Moroccan or Algerian officials and sub-Saharan gang leaders who function as unofficial yet rigorous migration professionals at migration ‘hubs’. They seem to proceed in impunity. Respondents link risk factors mainly to their undocumented and unprotected status and suggest that migrant communities set-up awareness raising campaigns on risks while legal and policy changes enforcing human rights, legal protection and human treatment of migrants along with severe punishment of perpetrators are politically lobbied for.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sub-Saharan migrants are at high risk of sexual victimization and subsequent ill-health in and around Morocco. Comprehensive cross-border and multi-level prevention actions are urgently called for. Given the European Neighbourhood Policy, we deem it paramount that the European Union politically cares for these migrants’ lives and health, takes up its responsibility, drastically changes migration regulation into one that upholds human rights beyond survival and enforces all authorities involved to restore migrants’ lives worthy to be lived again.
authors.affiliation: ICRH- Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185 UZP114, Ghent 9000, Belgium. ines.keygnaert@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Keygnaert
authors.forename: Abdessamad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dialmy
authors.forename: Altay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manço
authors.forename: Jeroen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Keygnaert
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vettenburg
authors.forename: Kristien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roelens
authors.forename: Marleen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Temmerman
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000208:ethnology; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009018:Morocco / Q000453:epidemiology; D012036:Refugees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data