Crime and Impunity

Throughout the 1980s in Iran, thousands of individuals were arrested and detained for supposedly supporting or participating in oppositional political organizations that were critical of the Islamic Republic regime's undemocratic practices. So far, many reputable reports have been published detailing the various torture methods inflicted upon the political prisoners in that decade. However, despite anecdotal evidence on sexual abuses in the prisons of Iran, the topic has not yet been subject to systematic study. This book based on testimonials of victims, survivors, witnesses and experts, examines the extent to which women prisoners were systematically subjected to sexual violence as a gender-specific means of silencing young Iranian girls and women dissidents. It covers details of mistreatment of women prisoners at the hands of Iranian prison authorities and highlights the impact of such acts on the young prisoners and their children who were subjected to or witnessed sexual violence. It also analyses the parallel processes of authority and the manner in which Iranian security officials raped and tortured those about to face execution or forced prisoners into marriage as a barter for their life.