Legal Pathology of Child Abuse and Sexual Violence within Families: A Discussion About Incestuous Abuse in Iran

Within the framework of Iranian social relationships, the family is positioned as a sacred institution under strict religious and legal jurisdiction. This cultural sanctity often functions as a barrier to the disclosure of internal abuses, prioritizing the preservation of the family’s “moral” image over the safety of its individual members. Consequently, conservative societal frameworks frequently marginalize instances of intra-familial child sexual abuse, inadvertently perpetuating a cycle of violence that shatters the foundational trust inherent in family bonds. Utilizing a Grounded Theory (GT) methodology and semi-structured interviews, this study engaged 452 survivors through purposive and snowball sampling to explore their childhood experiences of incestuous abuse. Analysis of the data—updated to reflect the socio-legal climate of 2024 and 2025—demonstrates that sexual violence within the home remains a minimized issue across legal and social strata. The findings reveal that dominant religious discourses often re-victimize the child by framing abuse through the lens of “dishonour” or “sin.” Furthermore, the state’s restrictive stance on sex education and the patriarchal legal structure contribute to a pervasive culture of silence. The study concludes that addressing this pathology requires a multi-dimensional strategy involving legislative reform, the de-tabooing of sexual discourse, and the creation of independent support services to redefine the nature of child protection within the Iranian family and society.