An investigative report by a Tehran daily documented dozens of cases of Iranian boys abused in schools, sports and transport, shedding light on a mostly underreported pattern compared to widespread accounts of girls’ abuse.
“My teacher wanted me to take off my clothes,” said Farid, a survivor who spoke to the reformist Shargh newspaper under a pseudonym.
The paper’s reporter collected detailed, often graphic recollections from men who described being touched, groped or coerced into sexual acts in settings where they expected safety.
Amir-Ali, now 32, recalled a taxi ride in which a passenger repeatedly pressed his body close and then placed a hand on his thigh. He said he felt powerless, ashamed and unable to tell friends or family.
“I didn’t speak to anyone — I thought I’d be mocked,” he told the reporter.
Majid described being molested on a crowded metro: the man next to him repeatedly adjusted his hand until the touching became unmistakable. He said he moved away without protest because embarrassment and fear made him freeze. “It was so strange and scary,” Majid added. “I just wanted to get off at the next stop.”
Far more sustained abuse appears in other accounts. Javid recounted grooming and repeated sexual exploitation by a 25-year-old assistant coach at a youth football class. He says the coach showed explicit videos, demanded sexual acts and pressured boys to comply, leaving Javid depressed and withdrawn for years.
Some victims described telling only a single friend or, in a few cases, later raising the matter in therapy — and even then withholding details.
Another survivor, Sepehr, said a close relative forced him into sexual acts from the age of ten and that he has only ever disclosed the abuse in psychotherapy. He feared family fallout and shame: “I was scared that people in the family would find out,” he told Shargh.
Shame, silence and long-term harm
The dominant theme is shame, according to psychologist Parisa Pouyan, who works on social-harm issues.
“They often feel their masculinity and sexual identity are questioned; for many, the violation is deeply humiliating,” she added. Pouyan warned that the silence compounds harm: survivors commonly suffer depression, social withdrawal and difficulties forming intimate relationships long after the assaults.
Legal advocates say institutional barriers deepen invisibility. Although Iran’s statutes do not formally distinguish male and female victims, “in practice, the numbers and the follow-through are very different,” Monica Nadi, a lawyer experienced in social-harm cases, told the paper.
She pointed to stigma, a lack of male-oriented support services and the legal difficulties of proving sexual crimes — lost physical evidence, absent witnesses and delayed reporting — as reasons why men rarely pursue judicial remedies.
Settings and system failures
Shargh’s investigation found incidents in boys’ schools, sports clubs, family homes, barracks, prisons, taxis and metro cars.
Several interviewees said suspected perpetrators were later moved between institutions rather than removed from positions of authority after being exposed for their harassment, risking further abuse.
The paper’s reporting calls for targeted steps: breaking cultural taboos, expanding counselling and support services for male survivors, training educators and staff, and improving mechanisms for reporting and evidence collection.
Survivors and experts warned that without systemic reform, many victims will continue to carry trauma in silence and cycles of abuse may persist.
