ANKARA - Drawing attention to the increase in crimes against children, the Green Left Party and HDP stated that the number of births by children under the age of 15 reached 21,087 in 22 years and demanded that sexual crimes be prevented.

 

The Greens and Left Future Party (Green Left Party) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Children's Commission held a joint press conference in the Parliament on child marriage and sexual crimes against children. Green Left Party Mêrdîn MP Beritan Güneş Altın spoke on behalf of HDP and Green Left Party Children's Commission.

 

21 THOUSAND 87 CHILDREN BIRTHDAY

 

Stating that child abuse under the name of "marriage" is increasing day by day due to the anti-women and child-friendly policies of the AKP-MHP government, Altın said. "According to the announced data, while the birth rates under the age of 15 increased by 25 percent, the number of pregnant women under the age of 19 exceeded 2 million and the number of births under the age of 15 reached 21,087 in 22 years."

 

‘WHAT DOES THIS NUMBER SHOW US?’

 

Sharing that, according to the data announced by TUIK between 2002 and 2021, the number of girls aged 16 and 17 who were married with the consent of the family was recorded as 731 thousand 16 and the number of boys as 34 thousand 795, Altın said: “It is among the data that are reflected to the public that 129 thousand 547 children, who are under the age of consent, were decided to marry between the years 2012-2021 by the courts. So what do these numbers show us? We know that the increase in these numbers is the clear result of the misogynistic policies of the government. The government paves the way for violations of children's rights with each passing day, both with its rhetoric and with its ongoing practices.

 

UNACCEPTABLE

 

Reasons such as "the child had consent", which are far from the truth, legitimizing abuse and covering it up, are unacceptable. The truth is that; in this country, children are at home by family members, in public; their neighbors and peers are sexually abused in the religious education in the sect-community dormitories and Qur'an courses, which are now an organic part of the government. Abused children, on the other hand, are forced into marriage and once again abused by the state. These understandings and practices that force the child to marry the abuser and legitimize the pregnancy resulting from the abuse as a compulsory condition for marriage are unacceptable!

 

YOUNG WOMEN ARE COMPLIED TO MARRIAGE

 

In this way, during the AKP-MHP rule, when women's poverty increased, young women who had difficulties in meeting the requirements of educational life economically and could not afford a shelter were almost forced into marriage. In 2015, the Constitutional Court annulled the penalty for civil marriages. In 2016, the Constitutional Court introduced a 15-year-old criterion for child abuse. Again in 2016, the amnesty bill through marriage was withdrawn after the reactions. In 2017, muftis were authorized to perform religious marriages, and verbal declaration was made sufficient for the registration of the child. In 2021, the requirement of 'concrete evidence' began to be sought in sexual crimes. Finally, it was withdrawn from the Istanbul Convention with the decision of the President.”

 

REQUESTS

 

Altın listed the following demands in order to prevent sexual abuse of children under the age of 18:

 

“* Misogynistic policies should be abandoned immediately, and the Istanbul Convention should be reopened for signature.

 

* Understandings that try to keep girls and young women away from education and imprison them at home, and practices that keep women away from the workforce and the public sphere in this period of feminization of poverty, should be abandoned, and the reasons that make women economically dependent on men should be eliminated.

 

*The relevant articles in the Turkish Civil Code and the Turkish Penal Code, which legitimize the abuse of a child through marriage, should be urgently rearranged by considering the best interests of the children.

 

* Protective and preventive policies should be produced before the act of sexual abuse occurs and the necessary mechanisms should be created urgently for the widespread implementation of these policies.

 

*Complaint/application mechanisms that children can reach directly should be created locally and widely, and children should be informed about how they can use these mechanisms.

 

* In case of sexual abuse, an effective investigation and criminal sanction process should be carried out quickly.

 

*Health measures should be taken, including the psychosocial support process of abused children.