Global cost of violence against women and need to redefine hijab discourse

Pars Today – A scientific conference at University of Tehran highlighted that violence against women costs the world approximately $1.5 trillion annually. The event emphasized the necessity of redefining the discourse on hijab with a scientific and evidence-based approach.

According to Pars Today, citing Fars News Agency, Hamzeh Mansouri, Head of the Family and Marriage Center at University of Tehran and Deputy for Coordination at the Leader’s Office in the university, spoke at a scholarly conference examining chastity and hijab from the perspectives of neurology, biology, and social psychology. Emphasizing the need to shift the younger generation’s approach to traditional social discourse, he stated:

“Today’s youth and adolescents do not respond to broad, directive, or threat-based messaging. If discussions are to take place on hijab and women’s issues, a new discursive model grounded in empirical sciences and reputable global research must be presented.”

Mansouri highlighted the results of four years of interdisciplinary research, noting: “Over 20,000 scientific sources in medicine, psychology, women’s studies, and social sciences were reviewed, and part of these sources have been translated into Persian for the first time in Iran.”

Referring to international studies, the Deputy Coordinator emphasized that despite widespread claims about social freedoms, sexual harassment and violence remain the most significant challenges facing women worldwide, with an estimated annual cost of approximately $1.5 trillion.

Social and psychological dimensions of violence against women

The Head of the Family and Marriage Center at entity, Hamzeh Mansouri, citing reports from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), stated:

“About 50% of Dutch women have experienced sexual harassment or violence at least once in their lifetime after the age of 15, and 83% of young European women have restricted their movement or presence in public spaces to maintain their safety.”

Mansouri emphasized that the consequences of sexual violence include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, reduced concentration, lowered self-esteem, and suicide. He added: “Thirty-three percent of women who have experienced sexual violence have considered suicide, and approximately 13% have attempted it.”

He traced the roots of this phenomenon to the theory of “objectification of women,” explaining: “Sexual jokes, instrumentalized gazes, inappropriate comments, and messages on social media reduce women to objects, which ultimately contributes to sexual violence.”

He further addressed the sexualization of girls in media, cinema, animation, and sports, noting: “A woman’s body replaces her human identity, and this process has particularly severe psychological effects on adolescents with low self-esteem.” Mansouri emphasized that issues related to women and hijab are not merely religious or legal matters, but represent a global scientific, psychological, and social challenge that must be addressed through the language of science and empirical data.

The Head of the Family and Marriage Center at University of Tehran highlighted the gap between media portrayals of women’s freedom and the realities of their lives, stating: “If this gap is ignored, sexual violence will continue to be reproduced as a silent crisis.”