Violence, neglect, abuse

Especially with the impact of the women's movement post-1980s, work done with women victims of domestic violence rendered the neglect, abuse and violence experienced by children a lot more visible, recognizable and subject to intervention. The physical, emotional, economic and sexual violence experienced by children is an urgent matter that should become a focus area of its own.

We should begin by saying that in households with domestic violence, 70 percent of children are exposed to direct or indirect violence. Contrary to popular belief, even if they do not directly experience it, children witness, see or hear the effects of or feel the tension created by the violence, thereby living in and with an awareness of it. They feel the threat of an unpredictable attack that will target them, and are left alone with intense anxiety. The difficulty of explaining to others the violence that is targeting them or their relatives results in significant embarrassment, and the non-articulated anger, resentment and helplessness might be reflected in their bodies and behavior.

Violence, neglect and abuse towards children, which has been placed back on the public agenda with new legal arrangements, requires careful thinking, especially on the issue of sexual abuse, which leads to the wounds that are most difficult to heal.

Sexual abuse is the use of children by an adult of sexual arousal and satisfaction and results in physical and emotional wounds that are difficult to heal. When it comes from a relative that is expected to engage in a relationship of love, trust and loyalty, and when it is repeated, with increased chances of lasting for years and remaining secret, the damage to the child is much heavier. The experience is very surprising and difficult to articulate for the child. Unable to render it meaningful, in order to be able to survive emotionally and physically, the child experiences separated states of the mind and body. S/he might go down the path of removing this horrible experience from his/her memories, and of denial. When the abuse comes from a caregiver, the child might direct the anger and helplessness to his/herself rather than the adult. This might push the child to describe him/herself as bad and worthless and think of what happened as his/her fault.

Sexual abuse does not only take the form of physical assault and rape, but includes emotional and verbal forms and expressions (looks, insinuations, forced witnessing of intercourse with someone else, etc.). Contrary to popular belief, it is not a rare incident. It does not only take place in families with low socioeconomic standing, it is not a figment of children's imagination and in fact it is often hidden by children out of shame. The danger of abuse usually comes from very close people, and not strangers. An intervention that listens to, understands and foregrounds the security and needs of a child, and the existence of a protective/preventative system is of vital importance.

According to the Research on Domestic Violence Toward 0-8-Year-Old Children in Turkey, 74 percent of parents resort to emotional violence (forbidding something the child likes, cutting off of basic needs, locking them in a room, shouting, threatening, etc.) and 23 percent to physical violence (slapping, pushing, shaking, pulling hair/ear, etc.) in the case of angering behavior by their children. The study also indicates that in cases where there is emotional or physical violence in the household, 70 percent of the children between ages 0-8 witness the violence.

While the research in this field is relatively sparse, it tells us that at least 20 percent of children experience sexual abuse before they reach the age of 18. It is estimated that one in three girls, and one in five boys experience sexual abuse, which is a very high rate. Very few of these, where the child receives treatment, enters the purview of the justice system. With the increased usage of the concept of child abuse after 1994-95 and the singing of the Convention Concerning the Rights of Children, one can see an increased momentum on work in this area.  However, taking into account the problems in the implementation of laws, the effectiveness of public institutions and the recent legislative developments, there remains a long way to go.

Deep scars: Child brides

The marrying off of girls who have not yet turned 19 is another form of child abuse caused by the individual marrying off the child bride, the family, the society and state institutions. The patriarchal system nourishes these marriages, the systematic violence under which the child spends the rest of her life, and the confiscation of her right to life.

The actual number of girls married off as children is not known. According to police data, one in every three marriages in Turkey involves a child bride, and more than one third of girls married off are not the first wives of their husbands. The marriage age for girls goes as low as 12, and Turkey is in the top 10 for child marriages worldwide. 

These numbers are clearly insufficient to map the child marriages in the country. There is an urgent need for contemporary and comprehensive research to be undertaken with the participation of universities and civil society organizations. By signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Republic of Turkey has accepted and guaranteed that it will hold the universal rights of the child above all law and legislation. In 2007, certain civil society organizations observed with concern that Turkish politics did not put the goals and principles of the Convention on the agenda and that there were no developments with regards to children. Therefore, they initiated a campaign before the July 22 general elections to encourage the government and political parties to give importance and priority to children's policies in their programs, implementations and election campaigns. The campaign called out for the establishment of a national children's policy in line with the fundamental principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 We can see the gravity of the situation when we look at the state that Turkey is in 2014 with regards to child policies and implementation: In 2012, at least 609 children suffered a violation of their right to life, and in 2013, 633 children died. On the one hand, with the increase in civil society organizations and initiatives that focus on children, there is an intensified focus on preventive and protective work. On the other hand, instead of drawing lessons and taking urgent structural measures, each incident is portrayed as a one-off, and the lack of child policies at the national level with strategic planning continues to violate the right of life of children. 

As soon as the Gender Equality Commission was established by the Parliament, a sub-commission was set up to investigate early marriages. The report of the sub-commission was sent to all ministries, women ministers, women's organizations and relevant units of universities. Despite the years that have passed since then, no steps have been taken to implement the solution proposals put forth in the report. The conclusion of the report stated the following: “Early marriages are a problem that prevent the enjoyment of human rights, that decrease the status of women, and take away children's fundamental rights, primarily that of education. These marriages are an area that definitely requires intervention in a Turkey that aims towards gender equality.”

The Ministry of Justice was called on to ameliorate the inconsistencies between the Civil Code, the Penal Code and the Law on Protecting Children, and to define children in accordance with the international legislation, which has superior legal status as stipulated in Article 90 of the Constitution. It  has still not tended to the matter. The other institutions, whose responsibility is brought to attention in the report, do not have an action plan to prevent child marriages. The Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Health, the State Ministry which comprised the Directorate of Religious Affairs, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of National Security and local governments are not fulfilling their duties and responsibilities on the issue. The Prevention of Early Marriages Unit, set up two years ago by the Ministry of Family and Social Policy – the ministry that should be expected to run ahead of all others, developing effective policies and mobilizing the government for a solution – does not have a known roadmap.

However, the Penal Code Women Platform, established with the coming together of numerous women's organizations, conducted a lengthy campaign voicing the demands of the women. This campaign resulted in the amendment of around 30 articles of the Penal Code. On the other hand, the amendments were presented by the government as part of a bundle of laws and together with relevant and irrelevant other legislative arrangements. Furthermore, there was no discussion with stakeholders. All this brings the situation with regards to the investigation, prosecution and persecution of sexual crimes against women and children to a much more problematic state. The government has not taken the steps that would prevent sexual crimes. It has shown that it has no intention to change implementation benefiting the patriarchal state and law, and disseminated the illusion that the problem can be solved through an increase or decrease in punishment.

With the recent legal amendments, it appears that increased punishments are the methods to protect of children. However, the definition of abuse has become vaguer and the distinction between sexual abuse and sexuality has become unclear. For instance, we have arrived at an interpretation whereby the intimacy established by the mutual desire of two 17-18 year old teenagers and the forced intercourse of a 50-year-old with a 13-year-old child is rendered the same thing. While presented as a step towards prevention and increased punishment, the dismissal of forensic reports is very worrying as it would mean the disappearance of the factor that would be the most important preventive, sanctioning element.

Some of the other children-centered, rights-based preventive and protective works are the following:

In 13 provinces Children Monitoring Centers that provide support to children that have suffered neglect and abuse have been established. While the model is very good, there are significant problems in implementation. For instance, there is the danger of centers turning into units that only serve the office of the prosecutor, the inability to reach districts (the continuation of child abuse through forensics and police offices), the lack of national action plans by the government, and the lack of action undertaken by all institutions, etc.

The Children's Agenda Foundation is a civil society organization that insistently advocates for the wholesome transformation on behalf of children, so that each child can live as a right-bearing, equal, free and dignified individual in peace. Established in 2005 by the coming together of experts who work on the issue, the organization works on news, press releases, calls, activities to strengthen NGOs that work with children, and efforts to develop networks. It struggles against violations of children's rights, discrimination and for justice, protective, preventive and supportive works. It takes part in the Cooperation Network to Prevent Violence Against Children, where it actively works towards children's policies, equality, strategic network and action plans.

The cooperation set up to strengthen the monitoring role of civil society in preventing violence against children was named the Cooperation Network to Prevent Violence Against Children. This cooperation includes 67 civil society organizations. Their activities include compiling monitoring charts, creating communication networks between NGOs that will participate in monitoring work, creating reports and setting up a databank.  These platforms have a very important role in ensuring the establishment of children's rights based policies in Turkey and forming public opinion.

Alongside this, the Purple Roof Women's Shelter Foundation, Turkey Human Rights Foundation, the Women's Center, the Social Policies Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Foundation, the Flying Broom Women's Communication and Research Foundation, among others, work with women, children, lgbti individuals, and disadvantaged groups, providing preventative and mental, legal, and social support work, workshops and campaigns.

Turkey has signed international conventions on children's rights and provided a protective and supportive framework on paper with laws on protecting children. However, the inconsistencies in the initiatives of the government and discriminatory policies, the disconnect between different state institutions, difficulties in the implementation of laws, insufficient awareness in society, the legitimation of violence against children by the patriarchal system, the lack of cooperation and solidarity between law-makers and the subjects of law, and the traditions that enslave children result in the continuation of child neglect, and abuse, violence and rape. For that reason, it is necessary to form children's policies within the scope of state policy and put them to work together with platforms that are engaged with the issue.

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2 Prof. Dr. Resmiye Oral (2013) Çocuk istismarı nedir nasıl önlenir? (What is Child Abuse, How can it be Prevented?), İzmir.

3 Flying Broom No To Child Bride Campaign data (2014) .

4 Children's Agenda Foundation Reports (2014).