Gathering in Mahshahr to Address Child Abuse

Following the publication of news about the assault of three children in the outskirts of Mahshahr, a number of city residents gathered in front of the courthouse building. They called for serious action against child abusers.

Following the release of news in recent days about the abuse of three children in their residential home located in Talqan city, a suburb of Bandar Mahshahr, a number of Mahshahr residents gathered on Tuesday (April 24, 2024) in front of the courthouse premises of this county. They demanded that judicial authorities take serious action against those responsible for this child abuse.

According to IRNA’s report, the three children were confined and abused in their home by their parents.

According to Mohsen Biravand, the governor of Mahshahr, the father of this family confessed to his crime on the first day of the incident. According to Biravand, he was arrested and sent to prison.

The commander of Mahshahr also said that the stepmother of these children, who was complicit in the crime, was also pursued and arrested. He added that investigations into this case are ongoing.

According to published reports, two girls and one boy aged 6, 9, and 12, who were from the father’s two previous marriages and were being abused and assaulted by him and their stepmother.

The older girl’s hand was broken due to a hammer blow, and the other children were wounded with a hot rod. These children, who had been confined in the family’s private residence, were transferred to emergency medical centers by police forces after neighbors were informed.

The mother of the two girls and the mother of the third child had previously divorced the father of the family.

Lack of Comprehensive Plan to Address Child Abuse

According to statistics released by the Social Emergency Center of the Iranian Welfare Organization last year, 86 percent of child abuse cases were committed by the children’s parents.

More than six years ago, the government approved the bill on protecting the rights of children and adolescents, but the parliament has not yet made a decision on this matter.

Many experts believe that most cases of child abuse occur at home and by family members, and violence is more prevalent in the lower classes of society than in wealthy classes.

According to Seyyed Hossein Hosseini, a sociologist, in an interview with ILNA: “Research in Iran shows that the further we move from the wealthy economic classes toward the lower and working classes of society, the rate of domestic violence increases.”

According to Hosseini, in Iran children “are in the custody of their parents and they are considered to some extent as the owners of the child,” and for this reason any violence by them against the child may be inflicted.

Shahindokht Molaverdi, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, regarding child abuse in Iran, says that in the country “most programs are treatment-oriented, and when things get out of hand, programs are presented to prevent social problems.”

Molaverdi, expressing concern about the situation of “children who are being victimized without having a voice,” says that there is no comprehensive program in Iran to address the problem of child abuse.

A letter has been written by a number of members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly to accelerate the review process of the child protection bill. These representatives have noted that the judiciary needs laws so that it can refer to them in cases of child abuse.

Source: DW