Shafaq News
On a winter morning in eastern
Baghdad, emergency room staff grew uneasy as they examined Salem (pseudonym), a
nine-year-old boy brought in by a neighbor. The bruises along his back and arms
were old and new, layered like shadows over his small frame. The explanation
offered by his family —that he had fallen while playing— collapsed under
medical scrutiny.
The violence had not happened in
the street. It had happened at home.
Cases like Salem’s have become
increasingly visible across Iraq, surfacing in hospitals, schools, and police
stations. Each incident sparked public outrage, yet official data suggested
that these are not isolated horrors but fragments of a much larger crisis.
According to the Iraqi Ministry
of Interior’s 2025 domestic violence report, approximately 14,000 cases were
recorded nationwide, with 6% involving child victims, translating into roughly
840 incidents of abuse inside the family. The Strategic Human Rights Center in
Iraq reported that Baghdad alone accounts for about 31% of these cases.
Speaking to Shafaq News, Ali
Hassan Al-Khafaji, a clinical psychologist specializing in childhood trauma,
explained that most abused children never appear in official statistics.
“Accusing a parent often means accusing the person who controls food, shelter,
and daily survival,” he added, noting that silence becomes a survival strategy,
not a choice. For many children, home —the place that should offer safety—
becomes the most dangerous space they know.
Read more: Child abuse in Iraq: a cry for justice and systemic change
Inherited Scars
Parental abuse in Iraq cannot be
understood without looking at the past. Decades of war, political instability,
and occupation have left deep scars on the nation and on the adults who grew up
amid them. Violence was not just visible; it was normalized.
Weak governance and inconsistent
law enforcement reinforced the perception that authority is selective —and at
home, this often translates into unchecked discipline. A 2024 UNDP governance
survey found that more than 50% of Iraqis report low confidence in law
enforcement or the judiciary, a vacuum that allows violence to persist behind
closed doors.
Zainab Mahdi Al-Bayati, professor
of sociology at the University of Baghdad, observed that many parents
discipline their children exactly as they themselves were disciplined. “Over
time, violence became confused with authority, and fear with respect,” she
remarked, noting that cycles of intergenerational violence intensify the
problem.
That pattern appears in recent
international data. 2025 figures from UNICEF Iraq indicated that children
exposed to family or community violence are 2–3 times more likely to replicate
it as adults, perpetuating patterns of abuse. Trauma, untreated for decades,
continues to shape parenting practices as a default form of control.
According to the same report,
UNICEF cited the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) report on Iraq, found
that 81% of children under 14 experience violent discipline, while 31% endure
severe physical punishment. Legal ambiguity has historically reinforced this
normalization. The EUAA report noted that Iraqi legislation once permitted
corporal punishment by parents and teachers. Although a Supreme Court
interpretation in 2025 prohibited all forms of violence against children,
enforcement remains uneven, and public awareness is limited.
“Many families, neighbors, and
extended relatives view physical punishment as a necessary method to instill
order,” Al-Bayati commented, referencing a recent UNICEF survey that found 67%
of caregivers believe corporal punishment is sometimes necessary. That
normalization reflects a wider global pattern. In a 2025 technical report, the
World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that around 1.2 billion children
worldwide are subjected to corporal punishment at home each year, warning that
the practice remains “alarmingly widespread” despite mounting evidence of its
long-term psychological and social harm. For children, obedience lessons often
come at the cost of safety, dignity, and trust.
Read more: From love to bloodshed: Iraq’s family violence epidemic
Hunger Breeds Rage
Economic stress acts as a
powerful accelerator of domestic violence. According to UNICEF Iraq, nearly 47%
of Iraqi children —around 8.7 million— live in multidimensional poverty, facing
deprivation in income, housing, healthcare, education, and nutrition.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s updated 2025 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), launched
in 2026 by the Iraqi government in partnership with UNDP, recorded nationwide
multidimensional poverty at 14.8%, underscoring persistent gaps in education,
living conditions, and access to essential services. The same report also
recorded 20% unemployment among heads of households, fueling frustration that
sometimes falls on children and turns their daily life into a test of
endurance.
Speaking to Shafaq News, Ahmed
Karim Al-Saadi, a researcher specializing in poverty and social instability,
explained that chronic financial strain fosters feelings of failure and
humiliation, particularly among parents unable to meet basic needs. In such
households, control over children often becomes a substitute for the control
lost in society.
“Child labor compounds this
pressure, with many children working in street vending, car washing, or
workshops to supplement family income,” he noted, adding that when children
return home with little to show, punishment frequently follows.
Data from the Ministry of
Interior indicated that 73% of registered domestic violence victims are female.
Al-Saadi clarified that girls are often controlled through restriction and
fear, whereas boys are frequently subjected to physical punishment. “Both
patterns undermine a child’s sense of safety,” he assessed. He further
explained that cultural expectations and labor pressures shape these patterns:
Boys are often expected to work to support the family, while girls manage
household duties.
“Failure to meet expectations
frequently triggers punishment,” he continued, mentioning that mothers
sometimes act as perpetrators, particularly when they themselves endure stress,
violence, or humiliation.
Displacement further increases
vulnerability. Millions of Iraqis have been forced to flee conflict or
disasters, from the US occupation in 2003 to ISIS attacks and subsequent waves
of violence, often living in cramped, temporary shelters. The UN found that 36%
of displaced households reported at least one child experiencing physical or
emotional abuse, underscoring how uncertainty, hunger, and crowded conditions
turn ordinary days into constant stress for children.
Failed by Law
Mohammed Fadhil Al-Rubaie,
professor of law at the University of Baghdad, pointed out that most child
abuse cases conclude with written pledges or informal reconciliation. “Criminal
prosecution is the exception,” he explained to our agency, underscoring the
limited legal recourse for victims.
The EUAA 2025 report also
confirmed that Iraq lacks comprehensive child protection legislation that
criminalizes all forms of domestic abuse and enforces nationwide reporting.
Schools and hospitals are not consistently required to report suspected abuse.
Specialized shelters remain scarce —fewer than 100 nationwide— and
rehabilitation services are unevenly distributed.
Warning that the consequences
extend well beyond childhood, Al-Rubaie pointed to depression, addiction, and
violent behavior, noting that when thousands of children are affected, the
issue evolves into a national public health crisis.
Amid this environment, Iraq’s greatest
reconstruction challenge may not be rebuilding roads or power grids. It may be
restoring the meaning of home itself. At the end, Salem returned to his family
after his parents signed a written pledge. No court case followed, and no
monitoring mechanism was implemented. He went back to the same house, facing the same risks.
Read more: Child abuse in Iraq: a cry for justice and systemic change
Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.
