Normes et valeurs sociales en matière de DSSR au Maroc (English)

Socio-cultural norms play a powerful role in shaping the future of adolescent girls and boys around the world. In conservative countries like Morocco, the impact of social norms is even more pronounced.
Indeed, despite the rapid pace of societal change, Morocco is still characterised by a social organisation based on the extended family and on very conservative parent/child and male/female relationships, particularly in rural areas. The male position is still dominant in relation to women. Gender, age and, to a lesser extent, ethnicity and social class, are articulated in a complex construction in which female subordination is only one element of social relations among others. Marriage and the control of sexuality are indeed central instruments of the reproduction of power relations aimed at reproducing the social hierarchy, between old and young, between men and women. Thus, the prohibition of premarital sexuality, mainly for young girls, and the condemnation of sexuality outside of marriage are dominant but rigid norms in Morocco. At the same time, new representations of sexual models integrating a dimension of personal fulfilment through affective relationships are developing, notably thanks to the media. These models compete with previous models, often reductively referred to as ‘traditional’ (Cole and Thomas, 2009). Despite NGOs’ attention to young people’s sexual and reproductive health and more recently their interest in ‘comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), they seem to be concerned with providing ‘public and… discreet‘ activities. These activities would not effectively counter teenage pregnancy or unsafe abortion. This emblematic expression invites reflection on the discourses concerning awareness-raising on sexual education, STI and HIV/AIDS prevention or the prevention of unsafe abortion. These do not touch or only state in a general and “neutral” way central aspects such as gender relations, the social conditions that inform them and the negotiation of sexual relations. Adolescence is a period of transition, physical maturation, identity formation and social role acquisition that is associated with the emergence of an awareness of sexuality and the desire to experiment with it (Dehne and Riedner, 2001). During this period, young people face new responsibilities and learning. However, in Morocco, social norms hinder young people from accessing knowledge and services related to their sexual and reproductive health, for example, parents/adults in general do not discuss puberty with adolescent girls, let alone sexuality. However, when adolescent girls are supported and encouraged by adults who care about them, they trulythrive and assume their full role in their families and communities (UNICEF, 2002). As a result, more and more programmes are designed to change social norms in favour of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. It is within this framework that this research on social norms in Morocco is being carried out.