Shocking News: In Iran the Age of Runaway Girls Is Reduced to Nine

According to Shargh newspaper on November 17, the age of prostitute girls has been decreased to 16 while the age of girls running away from home has been reduced to nine.

Speaking at Tehran University of Social Sciences, the Director of Iranian Psychiatric Association’s Department of Social Issues and Harms, Dr. Bokharaee has stated that ”factors such as poverty, addiction of wife or husband, forced marriage and men’s diversity-seeking attitude and in some cases the oversupply of prostitution along with little marriage opportunities may be regarded as the causes of prostitution”, according to Shargh newspaper.

Bokharaee said that “according to the Welfare Organization, the age of prostitute girls is reduced to 16 while the age of girls running away from home has decreased to nine. And it should also be noted that running away from home may lead to prostitution.”

He added: “according to official figures, there are thousands of prostitutes in Iran, of which twelve percent are married women. We should however note that since prostitution is considered a criminal act in the country, these are just parts of the figures we have access to.”

Shargh newspaper then quotes someone named Dr. Madani, also speaking at the same event, as saying: “what is significant in this regard is that social problems in the country, whether it be prostitution or addiction, have structural roots, because of which it’s hard to treat or find a solution for an issue like addiction, or similarly in the case of prostitution, no proper solution can be obtained since wrong macro-socioeconomic policies have led us to a point that it would be too hard to find a solution.”

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http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/women/21534-shocking-news-in-iran-the-age-of-runaway-girls-is-reduced-to-nine