Has the statistics of sexual harassment of children in Iranian schools increased?

“این عکس یک منظره زیبا از کوهستان است”

This photo is a beautiful landscape of the mountains.
Ahmad Madadi

A question that you may have asked yourself these days: Has child sexual abuse increased in Iranian schools? The reality is that, like many other fields, we do not have accurate and documented statistics and information about this, and the scattered statistics available do not allow us to compare annual statistics and draw conclusions about its decrease or growth. But even without these statistics, it seems that one thing can be said with certainty, and that is that the number of published and disclosed news about sexual abuse in schools and educational environments, both formal and informal, has significantly increased in the past one or two years. It is rare to find a month or week without news of child sexual abuse in families, educational environments, or in the neighborhood and workplace being passed from hand to hand on social networks. At the very least, the result of this information can make us more aware of a harm that has always existed but was covered up and remained hidden due to social and moral considerations.

Teachers who have experience teaching in boys’ middle and high schools, have probably encountered numerous cases of sexual harassment in their place of service during their years of service. These cases have been dealt with in a completely traditional and secretive manner by school authorities and families, in order to protect the family’s honor and prevent the student from being ostracized by their peers and classmates. Of course, the sexual harassment in question involves both the victim and the perpetrator being students. The sexual harassment of younger students by older students is a story that perhaps all teachers in the school are faced with on a weekly or daily basis, and it takes up a portion of their time, energy, and attention to care for students who are at risk of being harassed. And of course, it is likely that these experiences are less expressed or publicized by teachers outside of the school environment.

During my years of teaching in cities and villages of three different provinces, one of the first things I would do upon entering the classroom was pay attention to how the students were sitting and the arrangement of the chairs and desks. Sudden and strange changes in the way students were sitting were the first warning sign that I needed to be more vigilant. However, this experience was not just a product of my time as a teacher, as parts of it also stemmed from my experiences as a mischievous and playful student. Students leaving the classroom for various reasons, such as using the restroom, was a normal occurrence, but there were times when students were sexually harassed by their classmates or students from other classes, and sometimes even people outside of the school. One of the almost constant topics in our school’s teacher council meetings was discussing ways to prevent and address these types of sexual harassment towards students.

This type of sexual harassment, which can be classified as “bullying in educational spaces”, is not limited to boys’ schools and is prevalent in both formal and informal educational spaces such as sports clubs, football schools, student dormitories, prisons, and even religious classes and Quran classes. The spread of social networks among students has provided more opportunities and facilities for the spread of this type of sexual harassment, in which the victims are usually students who do not have a strong social status, or are under the influence of other social and family problems, or suffer from psychological and personality problems such as depression, low self-esteem, dependent personality, etc.

Another type of sexual harassment that occurs in educational environments and has destructive effects on victims is harassment committed by a member of the educational/administrative/service staff against students. If news of this type of sexual harassment is exposed, it can cause a strong social sensitivity and anger and receive widespread media coverage. Although there are no official statistics and figures on this issue, it can be assumed that a significant portion of adults who harass children and adolescents in educational environments may have a sexual deviation and pedophilia disorder. Among the approximately 900,000 official employees of educational institutions and tens of thousands of others who are informally involved in the field of education, the prevalence of individuals with pedophilia cannot be low. The latest news of sexual harassment at Moein School in western Tehran has caused a wave of concern, anxiety, and anger in society, as it could be assumed from scattered news reports that the type of sexual harassment mentioned had less evidence of the characteristics of individuals with pedophilia, which increased the level

Where is the problem?

Unfortunately, the education system does not have a written program and guidelines for monitoring, prevention, and follow-up of these types of abuses. In addition, there is a lack of trained consultants who have the ability, knowledge, and motivation to deal with these situations on a daily and weekly basis. Generally, this type of sexual harassment (especially the first type) is resolved in schools through inappropriate management methods. In the absence of an effective, up-to-date, and knowledge-based counseling system, the scope of these types of abuses becomes very wide for the victims and affects their entire life and future.

In my ten years of teaching in various high schools and middle schools, not even one workshop or training session about sexual harassment for school teachers in the areas where I was also a part of, was held. Not even a handout or educational article was provided to me to properly handle such situations. The maximum effort to increase the skills and abilities of teachers in such conditions was through exchanging experiences in teacher council meetings and sharing tested solutions and innovative methods for managing these types of relationships between students. Apart from educational institutions and formal and informal training centers, families also do not have the necessary knowledge and sensitivity about unhealthy relationships between students, and in general, many of them, like educational coaches, have not received any education or training in this regard.

One of the main problems is the lack of sexual education for students in schools and educational centers. The main question is: why is sexual education not included in school curriculums? How should teenagers and young adults in our society gain accurate and scientific sexual knowledge and information? In a study conducted among 2600 high school students in Tabriz and Urmia, 44% of friends, 20% of books, 13% of parents, 11% of teachers, and 9% of various media such as satellite and internet were identified as sources of sexual information among first-year high school students.

Today, one of the functions of the education institution in most countries around the world is to provide sexual education to students at different levels. For example, in schools in Germany, these topics are taught to students: “General information about sexual organs and their functions, puberty and changes in sexual organs during different stages of life, relationships between men and women, pregnancy and childbirth, sexual diseases and ways to prevent them, violence and sexual abuse.” Compare this to Iran, where an Iranian student or adolescent must obtain all of this information through friends, the internet, or social networks in order to understand the depth of the tragedy that is forming in our society on a daily basis.

Another problem in the legal structure and upper and lower level laws and regulations in the field of children’s rights is the lack of a comprehensive and effective system for protecting children’s rights. Despite the passage of years, the draft for protecting children’s rights is being neglected and buried in the archives of policy-making and law-making institutions by officials and representatives. In addition, the strict and restrictive laws and regulations in the selection of education and upbringing, which can have maximum intrusion and interference in personal beliefs, thoughts, behaviors, and lifestyles, show signs of clauses and provisions that can prevent individuals with behavioral disorders from entering and endangering students with their risky behavior.

What should I do?

The most important task is to approve the comprehensive bill to protect children’s rights and include provisions that require government agencies to take strict and specific measures to prevent the violation of children’s rights, including sexual abuse.

Creating a database of sexual abusers of children and adolescents and connecting schools to it, with families having access to this database, similar to what is being done in many developed countries.

Incorporating sexual education into the curriculum and teaching program at all levels, from elementary to high school, is of great importance. The educational institution must take on this responsibility and have a clear and precise plan for it. In addition, the educational institution must develop and communicate specific and transparent guidelines for addressing sexual harassment in schools and non-formal educational institutions. This code of conduct should include a range of behaviors that are prohibited in educational environments, such as teachers and administrative staff having physical contact with students, touching, touching specific body parts, kissing, etc., and students’ behavior towards each other in the school environment should be subject to specific, consistent, and non-negotiable rules.

Note:

1. The Dos and Don’ts of Teaching Sexual Issues to Children, Mehrkhaneh, 27 Farvardin 1392.