In the IRI, the cabinet an office under the supervision of the president called Deputy on Women’s and Family Affairs, tasked with handling the issues surrounding VAW. Nevertheless, there is no information available regarding its tangible impact on improving the situation of women in Iran. There is no reported public sector spending on these initiatives, while also school curricula do not include national prevention programs. Women can obtain information on domestic abuse victim shelters through a government welfare organization hotline by dialing 123.20 The government's official data points to the existence of 31 centers of temporary residence for women in need of shelter21 upon having being subjected to domestic violence, as well as 22 social rehabilitation centers and 31 health houses22 that provide services such as healthcare for girls.23 The State Welfare Organization (Behzisti) notes that these shelters accommodate approximately 2000 women every year. Yet, despite these official numbers, human rights organisations point to a glaring discrepancy between the number of victims of domestic violence and the existing means and mechanisms of support.24 According to these organisations, there are only 21 women’s shelters in IRI for the over 40 million female population of the country and 15 of these have been established by NGOs with very limited resources. The public shelters governed by the government only receive the women for one month and the children are taken away from their mothers upon their arrival. Women who are victims of violence are not provided with defense lawyers automatically and must themselves prove the violence or engage a lawyer. The courts do not easily accept the divorce requests of women who are victims of violence and in most cases send them back to the perpetrator of the violence.25 Additionally, these shelters exist only in major cities, lack resources and are poorly advertised, with many such establishments focusing on reconciling and reuniting victims with their abusive spouses. Iran has not fully implemented the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of VAW. As mentioned earlier in this assessment, there are various provisions in the Iranian law that seemingly ensure the protection of women against violence. However, these provisions are not sufficient to fully protect women against violence. In short, this critical legislative gap, as well as existing gender-based discriminatory laws lead to the failure of the law to guarantee the 20 Vice President for Women and Family Affairs: "Contacting 123 social emergency lines is a deterrent of crime." http://women.gov.ir/fa/news/12919/ 21 Safe Homes: A center established by the National Welfare Organisation for the temporary accommodation of women who have been abused or exposed to domestic violence. For a maximum of one year, these women use the specialised facilities, services, individual, family and social, in order to resolve the issue of violence and injuries, free of charge. If the women have a son under the age of twelve or a daughter, their children will also be accommodated in this center. 22 Health Homes: It is a center established by the Welfare Organization of the country and covers never-married women who are exposed to social harm and lack family and social support, and provides economic and social independence through the provision of services. 23 The Annual Report of the State Welfare Organization (for year 1397 -[2017-2018]). 24 For more, see, All Human Right for All: http://www.iranhrc.org 25 See, All Human Right for All submission to HRC: http://www.iranhrc.org 4