Physical Abuse of Five-Year-Old Girl from Saveh Leads to Hospitalization

The social deputy of the Welfare Organization of Markazi Province reported that a five-year-old girl in Saveh has fallen into a coma after "physical abuse" and "head injury." The identity of the assailant is unknown, but the child's mother is in custody. According to the Young Journalists Club website, affiliated with state media, Abdolkarim Yadgari stated on Saturday, July 29, that he could not confirm reports of sexual abuse against the child and said that no comments could be made until the investigation is complete. Hadi Maleki, the head of the judiciary in Saveh, also reported that this child was taken to the hospital by her mother on Saturday without confirming reports of sexual abuse. According to Mr. Maleki, the child's mother is "the primary suspect" in custody. The deputy of the Welfare Organization stated that the child's mother separated from her husband five years ago while she was pregnant. In recent weeks, the sexual abuse and murder of 7-year-old Atena Aslani from Parsabad Moghan in Ardabil Province has received significant media coverage in Iran. Atena was murdered on June 18, and her body was found 20 days later in the killer's shop parking lot. According to Iranian news agencies, a married man sexually abused Atena and ultimately murdered her. On Tuesday, July 17, the ILNA news agency reported the rape of a young girl in Darvazeh Ghar in Tehran. Hossein Asadbeigi, head of the country's social emergency services, previously reported that some cases of child sexual abuse remain hidden, stating that out of approximately 27,000 reports of child abuse to this center last year, about two percent were related to sexual abuse. However, Iraj Harirchi, deputy minister of health, said that there are no statistics on sexual abuse of girls in Iran. The head of the country's social emergency services also announced on Saturday in an interview with ILNA that 75 percent of child abuse cases in Iran are carried out by family members. He reported that out of 2,765 reported cases of child abuse over three months, 1,404 cases, or more than half, were due to drug use. According to Mr. Asadbeigi, 513 cases of child abuse were due to irritability, 213 cases due to unreasonable excuses, 180 cases due to "psychological illness" of the abuser, 108 cases due to the abuser's unemployment, 148 cases due to "expectation of unquestioning obedience," and 47 cases due to alcohol use. According to this report, 70 cases of child abuse occurred due to the "sexual deviation of the abuser." In recent weeks, some Iranian officials, including Shahindokht Molaverdi, the vice president for women's affairs, have emphasized the need for educating families and children to prevent sexual abuse. Previously, the head of the social office of the Tehran governorate announced that for the first time, a plan for "preventing child sexual abuse" has been prepared in Tehran Province, and in this plan, teachers and educators in kindergartens and preschools in Tehran will receive training. This official of the Tehran governorate also mentioned on May 29 that the goal of this plan is to "educate a large part of the student and child community in the province to prevent and protect against sexual abuse."