A university lecturer accused of trading sex for grades has been sentenced to two years in jail. A Moroccan court Wednesday, the first of such verdict in a “sex for good grades” scandal that has rocked the North African country since September jailed the economics lecturer at Hassan I University in Settat.
Last year, Moroccan media picked up social media leaks of messages purportedly exchanged between the lecturers and students. The defendant was found guilty of “indecent behaviour,” “violence” and “sexual harassment,” local media reported.
Four more lecturers will appear in court today on similar charges of “incitement to debauchery,” “gender discrimination” and “violence against women”.
A slew of high-profile sexual harassment scandals have shaken Moroccan universities in recent years, but most have failed to result in trials, let alone convictions.
Rights groups say sexual violence is widespread in Morocco but that women are reluctant to report it for fear of reprisals or harm to their family reputation.
In 2018, after years of heated debate, Morocco changed its legislation so that perpetrators of “harassment, aggression, sexual exploitation or ill-treatment” could face prison terms, but some argue that the law still fails to protect women.