On this page, you will find:

Legal Framework

Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Penal Code 1962, which criminalises ‘lewd or unnatural acts’. This provision carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine. Both men and women are criminalised under this law.

In 1956, Morocco officially gained independence from France, which had long since decriminalised same-sex sexual activity. As such the criminalising law is of local origin, having been adopted in the 1962 Penal Code.

There is substantial evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, with LGBT people being frequently subject to arrest. Reports suggest that hundreds of prosecutions under the law have taken place in recent years. There have been consistent reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in recent years, including assault, harassment, and societal marginalisation.

2019

A Country of Origin Information report from the Danish Immigration Service, published in September, indicates that the number of prosecutions could be much higher than publicly available figures. It suggested that human rights groups would only be aware of cases that had been reported in the media, and most who found themselves accused would do everything possible to avoid media attention.

The Office of the Prosecutor General’s statistics for 2019 suggested that 122 people were prosecuted for same-sex sexual activity.

2018 

According to a report from the Office of the Public Prosecutor, there were 147 ‘registered cases’ of ‘homosexuality’ and 170 charged in 2018. In 2017, the official number of prosecutions was 197.

2017 

The report by the Danish Immigration Service states that according to the National Human Rights Council, there had been “four to five” cases involving LGBT people at courts of first instance in 2015. Legal experts quoted in the report said that there had been ten and twenty court cases in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

2016

In March, one man was found guilty under article 489 after a group of four men broke into a private home, assaulted him and another man and dragged them out naked onto the street. There they were beaten and filmed by an angry mob. Two of the attackers were also found guilty of assault.

In May, two men were arrested and charged under article 489 after being found by police in a parked car on the outskirts of the town of Guelmim. The men were sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

In November, two teenage girls, 16-year-old Sanaa and 17-year-old Hajar, went to trial on homosexuality charges after they were caught kissing and reported to police in Marrakesh.

2015

In June, two men were sentenced for violating article 489 after posing for a photo together outside a mosque. Reports suggest the incident was linked to another case that took place a day prior, in which two topless French activists were arrested and deported after kissing in the same spot.

2014

A report from Human Rights Watch stated that in July, a Moroccan appeals court upheld the convictions of six men charged with homosexual acts in April. Four of those individuals were convicted under article 489 and two were imprisoned, with the rest reportedly being given suspended sentences. The report claims that all six men may have been banished from the region.

In December, two men were convicted under article 489 and 483 (‘public indecency’) after a brief trial based upon ‘confessions’ which the defendants repudiated. Their sentences were reduced from three years’ imprisonment to six months on appeal.

2013

One report suggests that as many as 5,000 individuals may have been arrested under Morocco’s criminalising laws since the country gained independence in 1956.

2011

report of the Associated Press includes Ministry of Justice statistics indicating “81 trials for homosexuality in 2011″.

In 2020, The US Department of State report found that LGBT victims of violence in high-profile cases continued to be harassed when recognised in public. In March and April, a transgender Moroccan activist in Turkey started a campaign encouraging the outing of closeted gay people in Morocco, which resulted in numerous reported cases of harassment and death threats against LGBT people.

Human Rights Watch: Morocco: Online Attacks Over Same-Sex Relations – Criminalization Fuels Harassment; Protect LGBT People from Discrimination, Abuse

The Danish Immigration Service: Morocco – Situation of LGBT Persons

UK Home Office: Country Policy and Information Note Morocco: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Case Law

Razkane v. Holder, Attorney General, No. 08-9519, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, 21 April 2009.

Public Attitudes and/or State's Capacity to protect

2019

In May, four individuals attacked and stripped a man due to his sexual orientation. The man was seriously injured and pressed charges against the perpetrators.

2017

The report by the Danish Immigration Service on the situation of LGBT persons in Morocco suggested that LGBT people face a range of societal marginalisation, including physical, social, and institutional violence. It suggests that LGBT people hide their identities to avoid being threatened with violence.

2013

The US Department of State report found that being LGBT could “constitute a basis for societal violence, harassment, blackmail, or other actions, generally at a local level, although with reduced frequency.”

2010

Despite reports of discrimination and arrests persisting in Morocco, some reports indicate that the country is becoming increasingly tolerant to LGBT individuals. In 2010 the Morocco’s first gay magazine was announced.

According to a composite of information on Gay Rights in Morocco, compiled by Asylum.org, while homosexual activity is illegal, the law is only sporadically enforced. There is a degree of tolerance in cities where there are more holiday resorts. Nevertheless, it still contravenes traditional Islamic morality and traditional gender roles, and as such is stigmatized and viewed as immoral. Cross-dressing is also considered to be taboo. The LGBTI community is at risk of arrest as well as verbal and physical violence. They are socially marginalized and must keep their sexual orientation a secret. According to the UNHCR report, Morocco: Treatment of Homosexuals, Moroccan society does not even “suspect” that lesbians exist. It also suggests that homosexuals who do not hide their sexual identity are at risk of being harassed by the police.

It has been reported that some who wish to engage in homosexual activities without the stigma expect some money or a gift, however small, in exchange for sex because makes it seem as though they are exploiting the other man, and therefore it is not an arrangement of mutual pleasure. Homosexuality is more severely punished than prostitution (See Asylum.org). Jour 470 reports that according to KifKif, nearly 5,000 gay men have been arrested and have spent time in jail in Morocco since the country’s independence in 1956.

There does seem to be gradual progress being made in the Moroccan LGBTI community, however. The first gay magazine, ‘Mithly’ (Arabic), was launched in April 2010 despite a large opposition. It is published by the organization KifKif, which is based in Spain, since they are not legally recognized and therefore cannot campaign openly in Morocco. ‘Mithly’ is an informal publication and has no distribution license from the Moroccan government. Most of the writers do live in Morocco, but must keep a low profile to avoid harassment. Samir Bargachi, the general co-ordinator of KifKif, hopes that the magazine will help reduce the stigma of being gay for the LGBTI community in Morocco. Abdellah Taia, an openly gay Moroccan author, hopes that this progress is indicative of a new generation with greater tolerance for the freedom of expression. (The Guardian

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Website
Contact information

Equality Morocco is an independent NGO fighting against discrimination based on gender and sexuality in Morocco.

Website
Email: contact@nassawiyat.org

Nassawiyat (Feminists in Arabic) is an LBTQ womxn* and feminist group based in Morocco that has been established with the aim of peacefully combating all forms of violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression against marginalized communities in Morocco.

Trans Dynamics (TD) is an unregistered organization by and for Trans people in Morocco: founded in 2018, TD is the first and only trans-specific  organisation based in Morocco.

Country of Origin Specialists

We do not currently list a specialist on LGBTQI+ issues in Morocco, but we welcome suggestions.

Morocco Legal Assistance

Find organisations providing legal assistance to refugees in Morocco.

Morocco COI

Find Morocco Country of Origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents. 

We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.

Last updated May 2023