Concluding Observation Committee on the Rights of the Child CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4 para
58
Full recommendation:
The Committee urges the State party to repeal all legal provisions that authorize, condone or
lead to child sexual abuse and to ensure that perpetrators of child sexual abuse are brought to
justice. The State party should also increase the legal age of consent to sexual relations to 16
years. The Committee also urges the State party to increase the legal age of marriage to 18 years
and to criminalize marital rape. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party
develop programmes and policies for the prevention, recovery and social reintegration of child
victims, including child brides, in accordance with the documents adopted at the World
Congresses against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.
Assessment using Impact Iran indicators1
a. To repeal all legal provisions that authorize, condone or lead to child sexual abuse
and to ensure that perpetrators of child sexual abuse are brought to justice. The
State party should also increase the legal age of consent to sexual relations to 16
years. The Committee also urges the State party to increase the legal age of
marriage to 18 years and to criminalize marital rape
Articles 19 and 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child mandate states to prevent sexual
exploitation of children in any scenario, including while in the care of a parent or a guardian.
This includes any type of coercion or inducement of a child to engage in unlawful sexual
activity. Furthermore, child marriage is regarded by human rights activists as conducive to (if not
a form of) sexual abuse.2 A new law on child adoption, passed in 2013, legalized the marriage
between a father and his adopted daughter.3 Such a marriage would be prohibited unless a court,
after consulting with the state welfare organization, rules that such a marriage is in the best
interest of the child though the conditions for this determination are not made clear.4
There is no formal age of consent defined by legislation in Iran as sexual relations outside of
marriage are forbidden, thus age of consent is directly dependent on the minimum age of
marriage. The legal minimum age for marriage is 13 years for girls and 15 for boys.5 In 2018, a
proposed amendment to Article 1041 of the Civil Code that would raise the age of marriage for
girls from 13 to 16, while allowing earlier marriage only with legal and medical approval, was
rejected by the Parliament’s Committee for Judicial and Legal Affairs.6 In February 2019, the
chair of the Committee stated that a “new plan” would be introduced for the approval of
1
Indicators used: CRC.19.1.S.1; CRC.19.1.P.1; CRC.19.1.O.1; ESCR.12.1.S.8
Persia Education Foundation
3
Law on the protection of children and adolescents without guardians or with irresponsible ones, Article 26, (2013)
4
Impact Iran submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, review of the 3rd and 4th periodic reports of
the Islamic Republic of Iran
5
Article 1041 of the Civil Code as amended up until December 2000, NGO Impact Iran Coalition, Joint Submission
to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016
6
Amnesty International, UPR submission 2019
2
1