Why Are Iranian Children Deprived of Sexual Education?

A teacher, principal, father, mother, family members, neighbors, or classmates can potentially abuse a child sexually. Research shows that in most cases, sexual abuse occurs within familiar circles. As an adult, as a parent responsible for the physical and mental well-being of your child, how much do you know about sexual abuse? There is a wide range of sexual abuse from verbal harassment to assault and exploitation. How familiar are you with these concepts and the dangers that may be lurking near your child? To what extent does the educational system in Iran take sexual education seriously? Why is there no awareness-raising and information dissemination about the body, sexual relationships, and ways to confront sexual abusers in state-run media? In this week's taboo discussion, we talk with Dr. Fahimeh Miyanjii, a clinical psychologist and official member of the Quebec Psychological Association, and Mehrdad Darvishpour, a sociologist, about these questions. Dr. Miyanjii, as a psychologist, I ask you: at what age should sexual education and awareness about the body begin? Who is responsible for providing this education? This has become a broad discussion about whether schools or families are responsible. Which side bears the primary responsibility? Fahimeh Miyanjii: In different countries, the age at which education about the body and relationships begins varies. When we talk about sexual education, it is good to also mention the word relationship. This varies in different countries. For instance, in a country like Canada, even in different provinces, it varies. The more conservative and ideological the social policies of a country or province, the later the age for starting sexual education. But generally, in Canada, the UK, and Australia, it differs by about one or two years. In Quebec, Canada, sexual education begins at the age of five, which is around preschool, while in Ontario, it starts around first grade at six years old. Education about body parts and their proper naming, body care, and familiarity with different types of contact such as kissing and hugging, and understanding who is allowed to have what type of contact with a child and how that child can report it to parents or a trusted adult, and learning how to say no, should be done before the second grade. The next stage is education about reproduction and bodily changes in animals, including humans, which is generally shown at ages seven to eight using age-appropriate language, films, animations, and cartoons. The next stage is sexual maturity education, which comes into the curriculum around fourth or fifth grade, at about age 10. Then, in sixth grade, education about sexual behavior, penetration, masturbation, and so on is provided, and in seventh grade, around thirteen or fourteen years old, education about protected sexual relationships, the use of contraceptives, responsible sexual behavior, sexually transmitted diseases, and the responsibility of caring for oneself and others in an intimate emotional relationship, of which sexual relations are a part, is given. The primary responsibility lies with educational institutions. These teachings are included in the curricula of educational systems, and then kindergartens and schools educate parents on how to discuss emotional and sexual relationship issues with their children in age-appropriate language at home. Neither the parents nor the children should feel shame or guilt about these discussions. Therefore, both the educational system and the family are responsible, but families also need to be supported and educated by the educational system to know how to talk about sexual issues. Very well, Mr. Darvishpour, you heard Ms. Miyanjii's comments. If we return to Iran; she talked about the age before preschool and six or seven years old, but we see that in schools, high schools, and universities, there is no education on this matter. Why do you think such an important issue is ignored or even denied? Mehrdad Darvishpour: The first point to consider in response to you is the general view of religions towards sexuality. Although there are differences, for example, between Christianity and Islam, religions generally have a negative view of sexuality. The more conservative the culture, the less discussion and education there will be about sex and sexuality. It can be understood that in Iranian society, sexual education or even attention to sexuality contradicts religious beliefs. It is said that sex and sexuality are seen as demonic temptations that undermine faith and piety. In this regard, control exists in all countries with a stronger religious culture, and if we see a more liberal attitude towards sexuality in Western countries today, it is due to the significant retreat of religion and the expansion of secularism in the educational system and public culture. In Islamic countries, there is fundamentally a negative view of women as a sexual aggressor. Therefore, there is more emphasis on some form of sexual segregation and women's hijab and preventing the mixing of men and women. Sexual education can actually undermine religious control and authority. The ideological nature of the religious government has led to not only the absence of sexual education but also an attempt to confront the issue by denying it. Mr. Darvishpour spoke about the denial present in the educational system in Iran regarding sexual education and awareness of sexual relationships. In fact, not only is there no education, but avoidance of sex and repression of sexual desire is encouraged for students. I want to ask you, psychologically, does this have any results or does it produce the opposite result? Miyanjii: Well, this is a very important issue considering the insistence and persistence of denial and repression of sexual relationship issues in Iran and the current conditions we see in Iran. The very high statistics of sexual abuse among children and even adults are related to this. Not knowing about issues related to sexual relationships as a natural and healthy need in humans and repressing it is rooted in this entire sexualization of society. It produces the opposite result. We see that a society like Iran is very concerned about sexual issues. As a result, this turns sexual relations, which should be a very natural and healthy matter for a human being, into feelings of guilt and shame and a sense of being demonic that requires a high level of control and often turns into sexual complexes. Sexual complexes become sexual behaviors that are harmful to others and to the individual themselves. Ms. Miyanjii, I want to ask you a short question here. Since this education does not exist in this form, we see that even not only children but adults may mistakenly use some expressions or words to describe an event they witnessed or an event that happened to them. Is this language or vocabulary important when talking about sexual issues? For example, if you were to briefly explain the difference between sexual harassment and assault and rape for our listeners, what points would you mention? Miyanjii: I take this opportunity to emphasize that when we talk about a child in Iran, who is under 18 years old, we should not use the terms sexual harassment or assault and rape; rather, we should categorize all these behaviors under sexual abuse. This means we need cognitive and psychological development to be able to give informed consent regarding sexual relationships, and when we talk about sexual abuse, we mean all types of harassment, assault, and sexual exploitation. This includes any sexual contact between a child and an adult or using a child for sexual purposes. This sexual contact does not necessarily have to be physical; it can be visual, such as exhibitionism, or auditory. Under this category of sexual abuse, we have sexual exploitation, which involves enticing, coercing, or asking a child to engage in a sexual act in exchange for something, such as money, grades, food, or security, and is generally perpetrated by someone who has more power over that individual. For example, the recent case in Iran regarding the sexual abuse of several teenagers by their supervisor falls under the category of sexual exploitation, which is one of the types of sexual abuse. In most cases, sexual abuse of children and adolescents occurs by someone the child knows. Therefore, it is either from family, family friends, or at school. This significantly raises the importance of sexual education from a very young age because it is not guaranteed that an individual will grow up and go into society and only then learn to protect themselves. There is no guarantee that an individual is completely safe within their family or relatives either. Mr. Darvishpour, we have discussed that there is no education in the Iranian educational system. What are the barriers to this education? In addition to the ideological and religious structure you mentioned, we see that some argue that the Iranian government, by rejecting important international documents such as 2030 or even withholding the bill for the protection of children's rights, is itself a factor in the spread of sexual abuse or normalizing it. Or, for example, ideological interference in cases like Saeed Toosi. Darvishpour: You should emphasize that controlling sexuality and sexual desire and repressing it in many countries - not just in religions - has been one of the tools for consolidating political authority. Therefore, these barriers you mention are part of the policy-making to consolidate political authority. The Iranian government, as an authoritarian and quasi-totalitarian regime, is seriously trying to ensure its political authority by repressing sexual desire. Well, a government whose ideology is officially misogynistic regarding women does not recognize children's rights at all, in a sense, is a barrier to education; the authoritarian nature of this government in Iran is itself a barrier to education. The issue is not only that the Iranian government is unwilling to comply with international conventions, but also that its laws, which are derived from religious law, even in my opinion, encourage sexual assault. In Iran, marriage with underage girls is legal. This fact gives legal and moral legitimacy to the assault on children. Therefore, if we truly want to reconsider and change this situation, we need to change the legal, ideological, and political approach of the ruling system. Ms. Miyanjii, Mr. Darvishpour mentioned several times in their remarks about gender discrimination and the repression of women and the female body in Iran. I want to ask you, is there a difference between girls and boys regarding the information provided about the body or personal boundaries? We see that, for example, in Iran, girls are reminded from a young age to cover themselves, and the discussion is solely about covering up. But is this the education we are talking about, and what about boys? Miyanjii: I connect my answer to this question to Mr. Darvishpour's mention of control. Controlling society through sexual repression is a very important issue. A very good example is that now you mentioned that, for instance, from a young age, girls are told to cover themselves. Covering the body of a girl or boy does not change that child's encounter with potential abuse. A society based on honor culture places the control of women in the hands of men from a very young age, and here the responsibility for potential assault is also placed on the victim, that girl or woman. It means if you do not cover yourself, you have created the conditions for being assaulted. No, this is not the education we are talking about regarding sexual issues. In North America, it is estimated that one in three girls and one in six boys experience sexual abuse. You see that half of the women and a quarter of the men who have visited mental health service centers report having experienced sexual abuse in childhood. The difference we see here is that in a society where masculinity and control are all placed under the umbrella of patriarchy, boys and men are not given the opportunity to report sexual abuse. They are not educated on it and, on the other hand, do not have the opportunity to report if something happens to them without shame, without it being a taboo, and without their masculinity being questioned. Sexual education should be provided to both genders. Sexual education for both genders should be such that they can understand issues related to the body and sexual relationships with the opposite sex. It is by no means the case that girls are more vulnerable and that by covering themselves, they can prevent sexual assault. Mr. Darvishpour, the discussions we have had so far lead me to this question: do you think society has become more sensitive to this issue and news related to assault and sexual abuse? Has it only become more sensitive or also more proactive? Darvishpour: I just want to add one point regarding Ms. Miyanjii's comments. In any case, in a society where male authority is considered a superior value, this certainly affects the likelihood of young girls facing sexual harm. For example, as I mentioned, you can assume that the number of adult women who marry young boys is very low, but regarding young girls, the conditions for abuse are much more prevalent.