Number of child sexual abuse cases increases by 33 percent in 2022 in Turkey

The number of child sexual abuse cases filed in Turkey has increased by 33 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, according to official data.

Friday March 31 2023 06:07 pm

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Duvar English

Turkey has experienced a spike in cases of child sexual abuse in 2022, the Justice Ministry’s statistics revealed.

According to the 2022 Justice Statistics, the number of child sexual abuse cases filed in Turkey has increased by 33 percent in 2022 compared to 2021.

Children’s rights advocates have been calling for better sex abuse prevention for years.

Experts say prevention involves increasing gender equality, educating children on their bodies and sexuality in age-appropriate ways, teaching about sexual abuse through awareness campaigns and training public officials. But under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), talking about sexual issues is still considered taboo.

The annual increase was 41 percent for the fraud cases and 30 percent for the theft cases, the daily Birgün reported on March 31.

The number of investigation files in the Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices increased to 10,598,645 in 2022 from 9,857,295.

In 2022, the criminal courts convicted 867,397 cases out of the 2,900,860 decisions.

Moreover, the juvenile courts convicted 20,800 cases out of the 52,612 decisions in 2022.

On the other hand, 25,513 investigations were launched on the charges of “Offences against the symbols of state sovereignty and reputation of its organs” in 2022 in Turkey.