In Morocco was a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons , specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Children were trafficked within the country from rural areas to urban centers to work as maids or laborers, or for commercial sexual exploitation.
Moroccan men, women, and children were exploited for forced labor and prostitution in Middle Eastern countries. Young Moroccan girls from rural areas were recruited to work as child maids in cities, but often experienced non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse , and sometimes faced restrictions on movement. These practices indicate that these girls are subjected to involuntary servitude.
Moroccan boys experienced forced labor as apprentices in the artisan and construction industries and in mechanic shops. A few Moroccan men and boys were lured to Europe by fraudulent job offers, and are subsequently forced to sell drugs. In addition, men and women from sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia , and the Philippines entered Morocco voluntarily but illegally with the assistance of smugglers; once in Morocco, some of the women were coerced into prostitution or, less frequently, forced into domestic service.
Nigerian gangs, who engaged in a variety of criminal activities like human smuggling and drug trafficking , competed to control the trafficking of sub-Saharan Africans in Morocco. In the Government of Morocco did not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government convicted one person who subjected a year-old child domestic worker to forced labor, though it continued to lack overall progress in the following areas: convicting and punishing trafficking offenders with punishments commensurate with the heinous nature of the offense; proactively identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable groups; and ensuring that foreign trafficking victims are not subject to arrest and deportation.
The government also continues to conflate migrant smuggling and human trafficking. The U. In , the Organised Crime Index gave Morocco a score of 5. The Government of Morocco made progress in investigating trafficking offenses and punishing trafficking offenders during the reporting period.
