Prevention of Child Sexual Grooming in Cyberspace with Emphasis on the Capacities of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Abstract

The expansion of modern communication technologies has transformed the phenomenon of online child grooming into a serious threat. In this process, offenders gain the trust of children in cyberspace in order to facilitate sexual exploitation. Given the vulnerability of children and the existing legal gaps, the present study aims to examine preventive strategies by evaluating the capacities of the “Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography” and the Iranian legal system in addressing this phenomenon. This research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method based on library and documentary sources. The findings indicate that, despite the absence of an explicit reference to “grooming,” the Optional Protocol possesses considerable capacity to combat this crime through broad interpretation and provides a framework for the criminalization of forms of sexual exploitation as well as international cooperation. In contrast, the Iranian legal system faces a legislative gap due to the absence of an independent criminalization of grooming as an absolute offense, thereby limiting criminal intervention prior to the occurrence of the ultimate harm. Effective confrontation with this phenomenon requires the adoption of a comprehensive criminal policy based on two principal dimensions: legislative reform through the independent criminalization of grooming behavior, and the implementation of non-penal strategies. These strategies include situational prevention (technological tools and obligating platforms to monitor content and interactions) and social prevention (enhancing media literacy and providing self-protection education for children and families). Protecting children against cyber grooming requires the urgent reform of Iran’s legislative system and the independent criminalization of such conduct. This measure should be accompanied by a set of complementary technological and educational strategies in order to establish an integrated protective shield and ensure a safe environment for children in cyberspace.