Tunisian Social Observatory 

Report – August 2025 

The right to decent work and the issue of unemployment at the heart of protests 

The Tunisian Social Observatory, part of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, recorded 323 protests during August 2025, compared to 234 during the same period last year. However, this figure marks a slight decrease compared to July 2025, which recorded 357 protests. 

Despite the “usual” decline observed during the summer months compared to previous periods, protests continue to reflect a persistent dynamic of dissent. Each monthly report published by the Tunisian Social Observatory in 2025 confirms a growing desire among the population to assert their rights, gradually moving away from the attitude of resignation that characterized 2024 in response to the country’s political, economic, and social situation. 

Demands related to employment and working conditions remained at the center of protests in August 2025. Issues concerning the regularization of professional situations, the implementation of pending agreements, the right to union activity, the payment of wages and allowances, and the right to work were prominent. Sixty percent of the protests recorded concerned the hiring of unemployed graduates and unemployed PhD holders, the permanent appointment of contract workers, the improvement of working conditions, the payment of overdue wages and bonuses, and the denunciation of unfair dismissals. Workers led the majority of the actions recorded, with 148 mobilizations during the month, while large segments of the population also took to the streets to demand their rights and essential public services such as access to drinking water, a healthy environment, passable roads, adequate transportation, and better access to healthcare. Demands were also made for the maintenance of sanitary sewers and the improvement of road infrastructure. 

During August, the crisis of repeated drinking water cuts continued, particularly affecting the central and southern governorates and triggering a wave of sit-ins and roadblocks in several regions. Although there is still about a month to go before the start of the school year, August was marked by protests by teachers and professors demanding that their professional and material rights be met. Protests were also held by parents and students who demanded improvements to school infrastructure, the renovation of damaged or dilapidated buildings, and the provision of school transportation to ensure a safe and equitable start to the school year for all. At the same time, political and civic movements continued their actions to denounce restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression and reject violations committed by security forces in prisons and detention centers, while demanding the release of those arrested for their civic or political activities. 

As in previous months, various governorates across the country saw demonstrations, rallies, and movements in August denouncing the aggression against Gaza and expressing support for the Palestinian cause, with renewed calls to criminalize normalization. These mobilizations were often accompanied by actions carried out in supermarkets and in front of certain commercial establishments as part of the boycott campaigns launched since October 7. After the Hanzala boat incident, in which the crew was arrested by Israeli occupation forces as soon as it entered territorial waters, the Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine resumed its activities and organized itself to participate in events related to the launch of the Global Solidarity Flotilla, which enjoys broad Tunisian participation and is scheduled to depart on September 10, 2025, from the port of Sidi Bou Said in the capital. In August, social movements were more evenly distributed across the different regions compared to previous months, with the notable exceptions of the governorates of Tunis, which recorded 91 movements, and Gabès, which recorded 71. The other governorates experienced relatively similar levels of protest, with 27 movements in Nabeul, 26 in Gafsa, 18 in Kairouan and Ben Arous, 14 in Kasserine, and 11 in Tataouine, while Monastir and Ariana recorded only one movement each. 

During August, protesters diversified their methods of social action and protest, resorting to grassroots action in 78% of cases. They organized 99 sit-ins, 90 picket lines, 34 strikes, and 15 hunger strikes. To make their voices heard, they also resorted to roadblocks, tire burning, marches to the capital, destruction of agricultural products, and threats of strikes and work stoppages. At the same time, 22% of the actions recorded by the Tunisian Social Observatory team took place in the virtual space, where press releases, the media, and social networks were used to express rejection and anger, launch appeals for help, or convey messages and demands to the authorities to intervene to right an injustice or change a decision. Workers carried out 148 documented actions during the month, followed by residents who participated in 47 actions and activists who took part in 41 mobilizations. The violent events that took place in Mohamed Ali Square, in the center of the capital, and at the headquarters of the Tunisian General Labor Union also fueled a significant portion of the union actions. Doctors on temporary layoff organized a 10-day sit-in in front of the Ministry of Higher Education. Employees, professors, teachers, young doctors, journalists, sports club supporters, lawyers, individual taxi drivers, parents, and unemployed graduates also took part in the August protests. 

Approximately 70% of the protests recorded during August were directed against the government, the presidency of the Republic, and their representatives at the governorate and municipal levels, as well as against the administrations under their authority. The Ministry of Education was targeted in 4% of the protests, as was the national water supply and distribution company. More than 12% of the movements observed targeted employers, while others were directed at the judicial authorities, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, and the security authorities. In addition, during the same month, protesters resorted to suicide as an individual solution on six occasions. The governorate of Gafsa recorded three cases: a soldier who killed himself with his personal weapon, a university residence director who took his own life at his workplace, and a young man suffering from psychological disorders who was found hanged in his family home in Om El Arais. In the capital Tunis, an 11-year-old girl attempted suicide by climbing an electricity pole, while one suicide was recorded in the governorate of Kairouan and another in that of Kef. Three of the individuals concerned chose their homes to end their lives, two others chose their workplaces, probably as a form of protest or refusal, while only one of the cases recorded involved a public space. 

Individuals resort to suicide or self-harm due to multiple factors, including psychological distress, feelings of helplessness and despair, and difficult social and economic conditions that exacerbate mental health problems in a context marked by a lack of adequate treatment and accessible formal care and follow-up structures. The data collected also indicate that August saw an increase in acts of violence, with a particularly worrying rise in burglaries and thefts. The streets of the capital and several regions of the country were the scene of assaults and robberies committed in broad daylight, in public places and on major roads, fueling and spreading a general feeling of insecurity, especially since the perpetrators of these acts were often minors or young adults in their twenties. On several occasions, the Ibn Sina-Alkabaria Road has been the scene of acts of violence and robberies targeting pedestrians and motorists, whose progress was hampered by stone throwing or roadblocks to facilitate theft. The Tabarka region also saw a robbery that nearly cost the life of a 15-year-old child, as well as an attack on an Algerian tourist, while in Bizerte, a young man was apprehended while attempting to steal a car parked on a street. 

With the resurgence of thefts, other acts of violence have been reported, ranging from extremism to spectacular or unusual forms. In Kairouan, a young girl was abducted from her family home during a burglary, and the same region also saw an attempted assault on a widow and her daughter by a group of local youths. Public places have not been spared, with acts of violence and assaults committed against doctors in health facilities, while the stadium in Bizerte was the scene of an attack on an assistant referee, as well as chaos and tension. The Sfax railway station also experienced assaults, acts of vandalism, and destruction perpetrated by a group of teenagers, which spread fear among travelers. Public transport was also targeted when a group of children set fire to a subway train and destroyed part of it. In addition, August was marked by several murders committed within families, notably when a son killed his mother and an aunt took the life of her sister’s son following an argument. The Sijoumi region was also the scene of the murder of a street vendor, while an investigation was launched in the governorate of Sousse into the circumstances surrounding the murder of a migrant from sub-Saharan Africa. Given the scale of violence in public spaces, it should be noted that a legislative initiative announced by members of parliament is expected to be submitted to the Council when parliamentary proceedings resume. It aims to amend several articles of the Penal Code and to increase penalties for perpetrators of violent robbery, with sentences of up to 20 years in prison, without the possibility of parole. 

Once again, Tunisian detention centers and prisons have been the scene of suspicious deaths and acts of violence, revealing the persistence and increase of impunity among security forces. Women and girls continue to suffer various forms of sexual assault as well as domestic and community violence, with cases such as the sexual assault of two schoolgirls and abuse committed by a sorcerer who deceived women. Violence also extends to the digital space, where it manifests itself as an extension of traditional violence observed in public spaces. Social media serves as fertile ground for the spread of violence in many forms, ranging from harassment and verbal abuse to hate speech and incitement to violence. In August, a blogger posted violent and hateful rhetoric against the Tunisian General Labor Union, while a member of parliament published an abusive and intimidating message against the president of a political party because of her political involvement. It should be remembered that violence in Tunisia is not an isolated phenomenon, but the result of a complex crisis, both economic and social and educational, aggravated by the weakness of preventive and deterrent public policies. In response to this clear deterioration, the Tunisian Social Observatory and the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights reiterate their call for the adoption of scientific approaches to combat the spread of violence in all its forms, whether in public or virtual spaces, by strengthening education on citizenship and non-violence in school curricula. They also advocate for the development of early intervention mechanisms within educational and family institutions, the promotion of a culture of respect for difference and pluralism, and the reform of the security and judicial systems to ensure justice and deterrence without excess. Finally, they insist on the need to support civil society and enable it to play a central role in prevention and support.