showed that about 66 per cent of women respondents replied that they had been subjected to
domestic violence in the first year of their marriage.8
Despite the lack of comprehensive official data, cases of domestic violence are regularly reported
and considered widespread in Iran.9 10 In January 2021 the Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights in Iran reported that “hotline and 358 social emergency units had been
established across the country to respond to social issues” including domestic violence and that
“8 per cent of calls to the hotline and 10 per cent of in-person social emergency unit visits
concern violence against women”.11 In July 2019, the head of the Medical Examiner’s Office of
Tehran Province reportedly announced that more than 16,420 cases of domestic violence had
been reported to the office, an increase since 2018.12 In February 2019, Habibollah Massoudi
Farbod, deputy of social affairs of the State’s Welfare Organization reportedly announced that
during 2018, about 10,000 calls relating to violence against women were made to the public
social welfare hotlines.13 In April 2020, Mahmoud Aligoo, the head of the department of social
harms of the State’s Welfare Organization announced a dramatic increase in the number of cases
of domestic violence, as Iran was going through a governmental mandated lockdown to combat
the spread of the virus COVID-19. 14 Yet despite these regular reports, cases of domestic
violence are believed to be largely underreported.15
The Iranian legal framework actively discriminates against women and is permissive of violence
against women. The Iranian Islamic Penal Code (2013) is largely based on the Government’s
interpretation of Islamic Sharia precepts and contains provisions which directly discriminate
between girls and boys under the criminal justice system. One of the most telling examples is the
age of criminal responsibility, which is set at nine lunar years for girls (equivalent to eight years,
nine months) and fifteen lunar years for boys (equivalent of fourteen years, seven months).16
8
A. Moradian, Domestic Violence against Single and Married Women in Iranian Society, The Chicago School of Professional
Society, August 2009 https://iranian.com/2009/09/10/domestic-violence-against-single-and-married-women-in-iranian-society/.
See also ISNA https://bit.ly/2OBLIsM
9
Amnesty International, ‘Iran 2019’, https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/iran/report-iran/
10
Human Rights Activists in Iran En-HRANA, 2019 report, https://www.en-hrana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/HranaAnnual-Report-2019.pdf
11
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2021,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2Fhrc%2F46%2F50&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
12
Human Rights Activists News Agency, 2019, https://www.en-hrana.org/increase-in-domestic-violence-in-tehran-more-than16-thousand-cases-were-filed
13
Human Rights Activists News Agency, 2020, https://www.en-hrana.org/domestic-violence-increased-during-coronavirusquarantines-and-stay-at-home-orders
14
Human Rights Activists News Agency, 2020, https://www.en-hrana.org/domestic-violence-increased-during-coronavirusquarantines-and-stay-at-home-orders. See also IRNA, 2020, https://bit.ly/38UoMfB
15
Center for Human Rights in Iran, 2018, https://iranhumanrights.org/2018/11/iran-must-pass-legislation-to-protect-womenagainst-violence/
16
Articles 140, 146 and 147, Islamic Penal Code, 2013 https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamicpenal-code/
2