TEHRAN – Some 350 centers providing emergency social services have been launched and developed across the country, which have reduced social harms to a great extent, Anoushirvan Mohseni-Bandpey, labor ministry’s caretaker has said.

As per the sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2016-2021), we were obliged to set up emergency social services centers in the cities having over 50,000 residents in the first year of the plan, and in the second year, these centers have been launched in the cities requiring social interventions and reduced social harms, he said, Mehr reported on Thursday.

“From now on, we try to increase the efficiency of the centers which have been launched so far, and in other 160 newly established centers, educated forces will be employed to observe and monitor the interventions,” he highlighted.

These centers are working in order to control and reduce divorce, child and elderly abuse and protect the deprived, he said, adding that emergency social services forces include psychologists, social workers and sociologists.

According to a research conducted in [the Iranian calendar year] 1395 (March 2016-March 2017) and 1396 (March 2017-March 2018), the emergency social services centers has shown to reduce suicidal attempts and with effective interventions have saved 4,000 and 5,000 of those who have committed suicide, respectively, he stated.

The judiciary has well cooperated with social emergency forces, so that a judge will be dispatched to the place wherever needed, he concluded.

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