The hijab (etc) is immodest

[Belacqua]

The only way to stop such behavior is to have clear, official laws and rules, to stop that behavior at bay before it hurts and destroys.
Before it causes not just psychological harm; but also physical harm.

I agree that clear official rules can go some way toward damping down psychological abuse. 

But I think we also said the other day that it is intrinsic to humans to find ways to avoid rules that are handed down from above. Whether that "above" is said to be God or just human authority. 

So there is something more difficult that is necessary, I think. And I think that severe self-criticism is crucial. Because we know from experience that people who do harm generally feel they are justified. Therefore when we feel justified is exactly the time we need the most severe self-examination. 

I learned this most directly from William Blake, but it is intrinsic in Christian thought: obedience to the law can be a method to avoid empathy, and a justification for our own cruelty. This is true whether it's law from "above" or peer pressure.