At least 29,000 children abused in a year across Turkey: CHP MP

Duvar English

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Gülizar Biçer Karaca on Oct. 27 shared striking data and statistics in her speech on children and policy. Biçer Karaca called for a comprehensive child policy and budget for children.

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations and the Social Services Federation organized the IV. Child Protection Congress on the anniversary of Turkey’s signing of the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. 

Biçer Karaca questioned whether the requirements of this convention had been fulfilled in Turkey and emphasized the need for a child rights-based mechanism and approach to prevent all forms of violence and abuse against children. 

At the congress, she shared some statistics regarding legislative proposals, questions, and research motions in the parliament that included definitions of "child" and "abuse" during the 27th and 28th legislative periods up to the third legislative year.

Karaca noted that 83 percent of the 29,000 abused children were girls. In 2023, fourteen girls were killed and 32 child suicides occurred in the second half of 2024.  

Karaca held that the parliament and ministries fell short of fulfilling its requirements to respond to official inquiries. In the 27th term of the parliament, 1,615 parliamentary questions were submitted about issues concerning children. 

Of these,  only 11 percent were answered within the deadline. Another 44 percent were published in the official papers because they were not answered. On the other hand, 560 parliamentary questions concerned abuse. Only 69, or 12 percent of those were answered within the deadline. 

Karaca touched upon a variety of issues ranging from poverty to safety. She stated, "In Turkey, one in three children goes to school hungry. One in five children lives with parents exposed to extreme poverty. While the principle of the best interests of the child should be prioritized and safeguarded with a comprehensive perspective in both legislation and practice, decision-makers and practitioners in many areas continue to operate in ways that unfortunately work against the child's benefit."

Karaca outlined solutions to combat the challenges children in Turkey faced. "We adults are responsible for preventing all forms of neglect and abuse by adopting the “child’s best interest” principle in every legal regulation and practice implemented.”

Turkey signed the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, signed in Lanzarote on October 25, 2007, was published in the Official Gazette and entered into force on September 10, 2011. 

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