Deputy Minister of Health: There are no statistics on sexual abuse of young girls

The Deputy Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education states that there are no statistics on sexual abuse of young girls in Iran. Iraj Harirchi, the Deputy Minister, on Tuesday, July 16, emphasized the need for sexual education, saying, "The case of Atena sounded an alarm and showed that we need to provide various types of education at the family level." These remarks came after social media in Iran widely covered the disappearance and subsequent rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl in Parsabad County. Iranian news agencies reported that a married man sexually abused Atena and ultimately killed her. Harirchi stressed that skills such as saying "no" and communication with others should be designed and studied in "properly designed packages and then taught." He stated that we cannot erase the issue of some problems. The Deputy Minister identified the main method of this "environmental education" as being through "families, mosques, media, and publications." Some members of parliament and government officials say that some educational aspects of UNESCO's 2030 Agenda aim to prevent abuse and protect children's privacy. The implementation of this document was halted after protests from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and his associates. Previously, the head of the social office of the Tehran governorate announced that for the first time, a plan for "preventing sexual abuse of children" has been prepared in Tehran province and will soon be unveiled. Siavash Shahriyar stated on June 11 at a meeting of government officials that in this plan, teachers and preschool educators in Tehran province will receive training. This official from the Tehran governorate also mentioned on June 30 that the aim 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." Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President for Women’s Affairs, also reacted to the sexual abuse and murder of Atena Aslani on her Telegram channel, stating that if children are not provided with the necessary upbringing and education, they will be vulnerable to such behaviors in any situation and place. Two other seven-year-old girls have also fallen victim to incestuous rape. Meanwhile, as news continues to emerge regarding the judicial case against the accused in the murder of Atena Aslani, Fars News Agency reported the formation of a new case in the city of Karaj. According to this report, a 7-year-old girl named Kimia is hospitalized in a hospital in Karaj, who has reportedly been abused over 70 times by her mother's temporary husband. Roghayeh Mousavi, a social worker at the Mehr Afarin charity, told Fars News Agency, "Since Kimia's mother was heavily asleep and took sleeping pills, Babak (the temporary husband of Kimia's mother) took advantage of this deep and continuous sleep and abused the seven-year-old girl." On Tuesday, July 16, ILNA News Agency also reported on the rape of a young girl in Darvazeh Ghar in Tehran. The head of the country's social emergency service told this news agency, "According to a report submitted by an NGO to the social emergency service, this child was abused by her grandfather." The head of the social emergency service previously reported that some cases of child sexual abuse remain hidden and stated that out of about 27,000 reports of child abuse to this center last year, about two percent were related to sexual abuse. Hossein Asadbeygi announced on Saturday, July 15, in an interview with the state news agency IRNA that out of 2,765 reported cases of child abuse to the social emergency service centers, 104 cases were related to "sexual abuse." He stated that the number of boys and girls in this statistic was equal and that boys are also at risk of sexual abuse. According to Mr. Asadbeygi, four percent of the 2,765 reported cases of child abuse to the social emergency service centers, meaning 111 cases, were related to simultaneous sexual and physical abuse. He also stated that 2.3 percent of 13,726 reported cases of child abuse to the hotline 123 were related to sexual abuse.