violence are regularly reported and considered widespread in the Islamic Republic of Iran.23 24 25 26 27 28 Complaints of violence against women are usually first brought to the police in the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, reports of cases of violence against women have shown that there is a general lack of accountability for perpetrators. 29 30 31 Victims wishing to file a complaint for domestic violence must present two adult male witnesses to the assault, an evidentiary burden difficult, almost impossible, to meet.32 Further, a woman may only be given permission to leave the marital house if she can prove to a court a significant risk of bodily harm or threat to her life and safety.33 When perpetrators are convicted, sentences tend to be a payment of diyah (financial compensation)34, unless the offence is found to have disrupted public order and the safety of society, in which case prison may be imposed.35 Additionally, the absence of laws providing for the issuance of restraining orders puts victims under the risk of abusers’ retaliation. In October 2018, a woman was reportedly murdered by her brother at the hospital, where she was hospitalized after he stabbed her.36 Reports have shown that police and judges often consider domestic violence as internal family matters,37 and police intervention has been reportedly discouraged and parties are urged to settle out-of-court. 38 39 State institutions and Iranian authorities have been reportedly unwilling to investigate and punish perpetrators or provide social services to victims of sexual assault or rape.40 23 Amnesty International, ‘Iran 2019’, https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/iran/report-iran/ Human Rights Activists in Iran En-HRANA, 2019 report, https://www.en-hrana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/HranaAnnual-Report-2019.pdf 25 Human Rights Activists News Agency, 2019, https://www.en-hrana.org/increase-in-domestic-violence-in-tehran-more-than16-thousand-cases-were-filed 26 Human Rights Activists News Agency, 2020, https://www.en-hrana.org/domestic-violence-increased-during-coronavirusquarantines-and-stay-at-home-orders 27 Human Rights Activists News Agency, 2020, https://www.en-hrana.org/domestic-violence-increased-during-coronavirusquarantines-and-stay-at-home-orders 28 IRNA, 2020, https://bit.ly/38UoMfB 29 Center for Human Rights in Iran, 2019, https://iranhumanrights.org/2019/11/stop-violence-against-women/ 30 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2020, https://iranhrdc.org/access-to-justice-for-victims-of-sexual-violence-in-iran/ 31 Human Rights Activists News Agency, https://www.en-hrana.org/articles 32 “The standard [of proof] for testimony in all offences shall be two male witnesses; unless in zina, livat, tafkhiz, and mosaheqeh which shall be proved by four male witnesses” Article 199 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013), Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2020, https://iranhrdc.org/access-to-justice-for-victims-of-sexual-violence-in-iran/ 33 Amnesty International, 2015, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1311112015ENGLISH.pdf 34 Amnesty International, 2015, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1311112015ENGLISH.pdf 35 Article 614, Islamic Penal Code (2013), Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-ofthe-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/ 36 Center for Human Rights in Iran, 2018, https://iranhumanrights.org/2018/11/iran-must-pass-legislation-to-protect-womenagainst-violence/ ; https://bit.ly/37POQrq 37 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, U.S. Department of State, https://www.state.gov/reports/2019country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/iran/ 38 UN General Assembly, ‘Situation of human rights in Iran’ (para 32), 31 August 2015, https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2F70%2F352&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop 39 Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Country Information report, Iran, 2020, https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/country-information-report-iran.pdf 40 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2020, https://iranhrdc.org/access-to-justice-for-victims-of-sexual-violence-in-iran/ 24 4