November 20, was accepted as World Children's Day by the United Nations (UN) in 1989. Millions of children around the world are deprived of their rights on this day, which is celebrated in order to raise awareness about the rights of children.

 

The main issue millions of children faced this year in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic was the emerging inequality in education. Underdeveloped and developing countries are at the top of the list of countries with inequality of opportunity. Being a child in these countries is almost equivalent to being a “laborer”.

 

According to the 2017 estimates of the International Labor Organization (ILO); 218 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 around the world were pushed into child labor due to economic problems. 152 million of them were employed in jobs not suitable for development of children and 73 million were forced to work in hazardous jobs.

 

CHILD LABOUR

 

According to the data gathered by Turkey Statistical Institute (TSI), by the end of 2019, 48 percent of children between 5-11 years old, 28 percent of children between 12-14 years old and 24 percent of children between 15-18 years old were forced to work in jobs that are not suitable for their development. Adding the reality of unrecorded child labor to these figures, it is clear that more control and global cooperation are needed to stop exploitation.

 

PROBLEMATIC APPROACHES TOWARDS CHILDREN

 

Turkey's 2017-2023 Action Plan indicated that main issues in the area of “child labor” are due to lack of inspections and lack of sufficient awareness of the institutions that inspect workplaces. Moreover, economic crisis in the country along with discourses such as “gaining responsibility at a young age” and “supporting the family financially” pave the way for child labor. 

 

Additionally, Turkey failed  to fullfill its commitment to prevent child labor as prescribed by the ILO Conventions on Combating the National Program on Child Labor (2017-2023) especially within the framework of "street work", "work in dangerous industries" and "agriculture work outside of the family business”.

 

CHILD MARRIAGES

 

Another big problem children in Turkey face is marriage at an early age. According to the data gathered by TUİK, 3.1 percent of girls aged between 16-17 were married off in 2019 with adolescent age birth rate making up 17 per thousand among children aged between 15-19. Although TUİK claimed that these numbers decreased in 2020, experts claim that TUİK’s data does not reflect the reality. 

 

LEGITIMIZING OF CHILD MARRIAGES

 

Council of Europe Lanzarote Convention which Turkey has been a signatory of since 2010 provides articles to protect children against sexual exploitation. However terms such as “early age marriage” which grants clemency to child abusers violate the articles of the convention. 

 

Earlier this year, Süleyman Arslan, Chairman of Institution of Human Rights and Equality of Turkey (TİHEK) made one of many controversial statements made by officials on the issue. Arslan stated that: “We must distinguish between early age marriage and sexual abuse. These people should not be put on trial just because they married at a young age. This violates personal and familial rights of these people and their children.” 

 

STATEMENTS BY WOMEN'S PLATFORM FOR EQUALITY

 

The Women's Platform for Equality listed a series of suggestions to prevent child abuse as follows:

 

The Lanzarote Convention, should be implemented with all its provisions in order to combat those who attempt to legitimize child abuse in the name of marriage. 

Child marriage is child sexual abuse. If it is done for financial purposes, this is child sexual exploitation.

Although there are effective provisions under the Turkish Penal Code, attackers are left unpunished in many cases; when punishment is unavoidable, only the abuser is punished which clearly contradicts the Article 24 of the Lanzarote Convention, which stipulates for the punishment of those who aided in this crime, and Article 27, which stipulates the punishment to be effective, proportionate and dissuasive including penalties that require restriction of freedoms, taking into account the seriousness of the crime. 

Public officials who are required prevent child abuse but do not do this and on the contrary, who encourage, facilitate or condone such acts should be punished and dismissed from their jobs.

Families who marry off their children at an early age and those who don’t fulfill the obligation to report such abuse should be punished. 

Süleyman Arslan, Chairman of the Institution of Human Rights and Equality of Turkey (TİHEK) who condoned child’s sexual exploitation should immediately be dismissed.

 

'LET US ALL FACE TOWARDS CHILDREN'

 

According to Meltem Akboğa, member of the Children's Rights Commission of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Istanbul Branch, the data released on child marriages do not reflect the reality. Akboğa stated that there have been attempts to legitimize child marriage through court decisions. 

 

Akboğa added that on World Children's Rights Day, millions of children in Turkey are being deprived of their many rights, especially "right to life" and that the state does not guarantee laws that protect children. Akboğa highlighted that children are the future of the society and therefore everyone should face children in order to ensure their rights. Akboğa concluded by saying: “Let us remind the state and all other persons / institutions that it is our duty to protect and defend the rights of children who have been imprisoned, married off, whose right to live has been taken away. To protect children from neglect and abuse, we have to expand the scope of Children's Rights.”