Crime Detection and Preliminary Investigations into Domestic Violence against Children in the Legal Systems of Iran, Egypt and Iraq

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student in Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Iran, Tehran

2 Assistant Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Iran, Tehran

3 Associate Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Iran, Tehran

10.22091/dclic.2026.14859.1138

Abstract

The issue of domestic violence against children is a challenging and at the same time hidden phenomenon; this research, using a descriptive-analytical method, first examined the methods of crime detection and the difficulties of preliminary investigations in the Iranian legal system, and then, related them to the foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, because Islamic jurisprudence, by emphasizing the prohibition of harm and the protection of the dignity of the child, provides significant protective measures. Also, by comparing the situation in Iran with Egypt and Iraq, due to legal and institutional differences in child protection, solutions have been presented to promote child safety and strengthen the role of the family as a safe haven. The results of this study indicate that there is a weakness in the timely identification and detection of violence against children, which often hinders the realization of children's rights, especially due to the specific circumstances of the victim. Also, the lack of sufficient public institutions to support victims of this type of violence is a fundamental challenge. In the field of legislation, the legislator in the “Protection of Children and Adolescents Act 2020” has tried, by observing the principle of the individualization of proceedings, to apply more flexible rules regarding child victims; including using the capacities of governmental organizations such as the Welfare Organization in preventing child abuse. However, weaknesses such as restricting the concept of emotional abuse and the lack of effective sanctions for it, determining minimal punishments for abusive parents and the absence of appropriate mechanisms for forming a personality file for child victims still remain. The study of the jurisprudential foundations also shows that the clear emphasis of Islamic jurisprudence on prohibiting harm and the need to protect children can provide an important basis for reforming and strengthening these mechanisms in the Iranian legal system.

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Criminal Law Doctrines of Islamic Countries
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 10
Summer 2026
June 2026
Pages 1-31

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