Abstract

Purpose: Social protection for children is a key indicator of social justice, reflected in both international normative instruments and domestic laws and policies; however, the transformation of international norms into national policies and practices is neither a linear nor a direct process. This study aims to provide a sociological explanation of how international norms regarding social protection for children are translated and reformulated within Iran’s legal, policy, and institutional frameworks, and to identify the points of convergence and divergence in this process.

Methodology: This qualitative study, using a comparative documentary analysis strategy with an interpretive-critical orientation, examines three groups of sources: international documents (the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the general comments of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; ILO Recommendation No. 202; and the UNICEF social protection framework); domestic documents (the Constitution; the family- and child-related provisions of the Civil Code; and the 2020 Protection of Children and Adolescents Act); and secondary evidence. Data were analysed through qualitative thematic analysis in five stages, and trustworthiness was ensured based on Lincoln and Guba’s four criteria.

Findings: Domestic documents largely show convergence with international standards at the normative-legislative level, but divergences are observed at the structural-implementation level. These divergences are most evident in coverage and non-discrimination, adequacy and continuity of support, and institutional coordination and implementation capacity. The present analysis indicates that the path through which international norms enter the domestic context can be formulated in terms of six analytical layers: (1) the international norm; (2) domestic legal-policy reformulation; (3) institutional organisation and distribution of responsibility; (4) financing and programme design; (5) frontline professional and bureaucratic implementation; and (6) effective access and realisation of children’s rights.



Conclusion: In the reviewed documents and evidence, the gap between legislative convergence and structural-administrative coherence is one of the main issues of the child social protection system in Iran. Reducing this gap requires consolidating fragmented governance, strengthening institutional accountability, improving the adequacy and continuity of support, and redefining the relationship between family, state, and child on the basis of child agency. The gap between normative commitment and the realisation of the right is not the result of a single rupture; rather, it is the outcome of a multilayered interaction among law, institutions, resources, professional practice, and the cultural construction of childhood.





Keywords: Cultural construction of childhood, normative filtering, social protection, child agency, Convention on the Rights of the Child.