Iranian Parliament approves: "Failure to report child abuse is a crime"

On Sunday, August 27, the Iranian Parliament approved other parts of the "Protection of Children and Adolescents" bill, which, if approved by the Guardian Council, would make failure to report child abuse a crime.

According to the resolution of the Iranian Parliament, anyone who is aware of child abuse "or a serious and imminent danger to children and adolescents" and fails to report it to "competent authorities and bodies" will be sentenced to a "sixth degree" punishment.

Prison from six months to two years, a fine from two to eight million Tomans, flogging from 31 to 99 lashes, and deprivation of social rights from six to five years are "sixth degree" punishments.

According to this resolution, this person must also prevent child abuse or its "escalation" "if these authorities and authorities are not available or their intervention is ineffective in eliminating the aggression and danger," and if his action does not pose "a similar or more severe danger to himself or others."

If this person "refuses" to take this action, he will be sentenced to a "sixth degree" punishment.

According to the resolution of the Iranian Parliament, officials who are responsible for reporting or preventing child abuse will be sentenced to two or all three "sixth degree" penalties if they fail to perform this duty, as well as, in some cases, temporary dismissal from government or public service or a ban from working in that job for six months to two years.

The "Protection of Children and Adolescents" bill has 51 articles and aims to prevent "exploitation, abuse, and violence" against children and adolescents.

On August 2nd, about seven years after the bill was presented, parliamentarians agreed to its general provisions.

Masoumeh Ebtekar, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, said in a parliamentary session to review the bill, without giving details, that "the statistics on child abuse and exploitation are worrying."

During Sunday's session, parliamentarians also approved making it a crime to disclose the identities of those who report child abuse without their consent.

It is also a crime to disclose the “identity or information and secrets” of a victimized child or adolescent or to disclose “details of a crime committed by or against a child or adolescent… in a way that causes others to experience it, teaches them how to commit it, or causes any harm or injury to the child or adolescent or their family.”

The parliament's resolution stipulates a "level five" prison sentence for "contact sexual abuse" of children by "unlawful persons or by force" and a "level six" sentence for "other contact sexual abuse."

If this resolution is approved by the Guardian Council, "non-contact sexual harassment of incestuous persons" will include a "seventh degree" punishment, and "other non-contact sexual harassment" will include a "eighth degree" punishment.

Thus, in the parliament's resolution, the punishment for sexual abuse of children by "intimate relatives" is more severe than sexual abuse by other individuals.

According to Islamic law, close relatives such as father, mother, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt, and cousin are considered "mahrams".

This resolution also approves penalties for "sexual exploitation" and communicating with children and adolescents in cyberspace for the purpose of "sexual harassment or illicit sexual contact."

A prison sentence of two to five years and a fine is a "degree five" punishment, and a prison sentence of three to six months, a flogging of 11 to 30 lashes, and a fine is a "degree seven" punishment.

Imprisonment for up to three months, a fine, and whipping up to 10 lashes is the "eighth degree punishment."

Reza Jafari, head of Iran's Social Emergency Service, announced that as of March last year, 27,500 cases of sexual, physical, emotional, and neglect child abuse had been reported to the Social Emergency Service.

According to statistics announced by Hossein Asad Beigi, the former head of Iran's Social Emergency, 60 percent of child abuse is usually committed by fathers, and a total of 86 percent by parents, and only one and a half percent of child abuse is committed by strangers.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Saeed Hajian, the governor of Shadegan in Khuzestan Province, announced that a girl's uncle had been arrested for "beating" and "torturing" her.

According to Mr. Hajian, the child's father died some time ago and the child's mother has filed a complaint against her child's uncle.

Several cases of child murder and sexual abuse have made headlines in recent years, including the cases of sexual abuse and murder of Neda, a six-year-old girl in Mashhad, Atena Aslani in Parsabad, Ahura, a three-year-old child in Rashto, and Setayesh Qureshi, a six-year-old Afghan girl in Varamin.

Source: Radio Farda