A study of violence against women in Egypt and Morocco looks at steps each country has taken to confront the problem so far and tries to identify the best policies from each.
The study, titled “Gender-Based Violence in Egypt and Morocco: Politics and Policy-Making”, was published by EuroMeSCo, a network of 117 institutes from 30 European and southern Mediterranean countries.
The study used official statistics on violence against women in Egypt and Morocco during the past decade. Among its recommendations, it calls for an increase in the number of shelters for abused women and for training to help police and civil organisations recognize all forms of violence against women.
In an interview with Al-Fanar Media, Dina Rashed, an assistant dean at the University of Chicago and a co-author of the study, said an in-depth study of Egyptian and Moroccan practices allowed researchers to evaluate the policies that have already been adopted.
By learning from these lessons, she said, governments could direct resources to improving conditions for women and reducing societal tensions.
Research and societal issues have an “organic relationship” because social-science researchers try to understand society’s problems and their causes, Rashed said.