Shocking TV Segment Teaches Domestic Violence Victims How To Cover Up Bruises

Women have voiced their shock and outrage after a programme on Moroccan state television aired a makeup tutorial showing them how to hide evidence of domestic violence. The TV segment, broadcast on the daily show Sabahiyat on channel 2M last week, showed cheerful-looking make-up artist Lilia Mouline demonstrating on a model whose face had been made to look bruised. The host told viewers: "Make sure to use loose powder to fix the makeup, so if you have to work throughout the day, the bruises don’t show," before recommending the brands that make the best heavy-coverage foundations and concealers, The Telegraph reported. “We hope these beauty tips will help you carry on with your daily life”, the host also said, reported The Guardian.

Outraged viewers were quick to condemn the segment, which they pointed out aired just two days before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. A petition on behalf of "Concerned Moroccan Citizens", calling on the the High Authority of Audiovisual Communication (HACA) to take action against the TV channel, has so far garnered nearly 2,000 signatures. "As Moroccan women and as feminist activists in Morocco, and in the name of all Moroccan people, we denounce the message of normalization with violence against women. We demand severe sanctions against this show, "Sabahiyat", and the channel 2M," the petition read. 2M has since removed the clip from its website and apologised for its "editorial error of judgement in view of the sensitivity and the gravity of the subject of violence against women."

The channel also said it would "take the necessary steps towards the people responsible for this error and to strengthen the tools of control and supervision on this subject," and said it had been committed to women's rights for 27 years. Violence against women is commonplace in Morocco and the country has no domestic violence law, according to Human Rights Watch. A survey by the Moroccan government in 2009-10 found that nearly two-thirds of women in the country had experienced physical, psychological, sexual, and economic violence – 55% of whom reported “conjugal” violence. A law on violence against women has been drafted by the government, but it has been pending since 2013. Furthermore, it doesn't contain a clear definition of domestic violence and doesn't criminalise marital rape.