Human Trafficking in [Turkey] [other countries]Street Children in [Turkey Child Prostitution in [Turkey] [other countries] |
Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the
first ten years of the 21st Century -
2000 to 2009
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FEATURED ARTICLE *** Solve the Problem of Street Children NIGHT SHELTERS AND REHABILITATION NEEDED - "Children and young people living on the streets need somewhere to stay at night, and this needs to be provided by the municipalities. In Istanbul, at least 10 night shelters need to be founded. Istanbul’s 32 district municipalities need to come together and collaborate on a common project. They have not done anything on this issue yet, but the problem could be solved within a year if there were a project under the coordination of the Greater Istanbul Municipality." ***
ARCHIVES *** UNICEF - The Big Picture U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs - 2004 INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - A rapid assessment on working street children in 2001 found that
street children in the cities of Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 CHILDREN - Government-provided education
through age 14 or the eighth grade is free, universal, and compulsory. The maximum
age to which public schooling was provided was 18. Traditional family values
in rural areas placed a greater emphasis on education for sons than for
daughters. According to the government, 95.4 percent of girls and 99.2
percent of boys in the country attended primary school; however, the UN
reported during the year that in the eastern and southeastern regions of the
country more than 50 percent of girls between 6 and 14 did not attend school. SECTION 6
WORKER RIGHTS – [c]
Some parents forced their children to work on the streets and to beg. SECTION 6
WORKER RIGHTS – [d]
There were no reliable statistics for the number of children working on the streets nationwide. The government
operated 28 centers to assist such children. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001 [61] The Committee takes note of
the number of protocols the State party has signed with ILO, in particular
that for the promotion of education of working children. However, it
expresses its concern that there is not a clear legal minimum age for working
children and notes, in this regard, the commission established under the
Working Children Department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to
prepare a draft "Law about the minimum age for work and protective
measures for working children", which will cover all children who work.
It nevertheless remains worried about the large number of children engaged in
labor activities, in particular children working in the fields, domestic
workers, children working in small enterprises and
children working in the streets, who appear to be less protected by
legislation. [63] While noting that a number of
centers have been established, with the collaboration of non-governmental
organizations, to provide counseling, training and rehabilitation services
for children living in the streets, the Committee nevertheless expresses its
concern at the significant number of such children and notes that assistance
is generally only provided to them by non-governmental organizations. Street
children take part in protest to protect Hasankeyf www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=176338&bolum=100
Street children, who are working
with the Batman Youth Social Life and Culture Association (AGES), have taken
part in a demonstration to protect the ancient city of Hasankeyf
from the Ilısu Dam. The children, who are working as shoeshiners, scale attendants and tissue sellers, took a
break from their jobs for one day to take part in the protest. They chanted
slogans against the building of the Ilısu Dam,
which is threatening Hasankeyf. The ancient
city will be submerged under water if the dam is completed. They also carried
posters which said “Street Children for Hasankeyf"
and “Keep your dirty hands and your greedy desires away from Hasankeyf.” The children said that if Hasankeyf
is submerged under water, there will be no tourists visiting Batman. İstanbul home to 30,000 street children, research
shows www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=159433&bolum=101
Of Of the street children, 20 were
identified in Ankara, and Turkey's third-largest city, İzmir,
had none. Kocaeli province was reported to have 687
street children while Eskişehir has 47. The
research also revealed that 41,000 children are forced to beg on the streets,
more than half of whom are found in İstanbul.
Other cities with high figures include Ankara (6,700), Diyarbakır
(3,300), Mersin (637) and Van (640). Rise
in sexual abuse of minors in Turkey sets alarm bells ringing Drawing on statistics she gathered
working with experts and civil society groups, Arıtman
says 4 percent of all children in Turkey are subject to sexual abuse, with 70
percent of the victims being younger than 10. “Contrary to popular belief,
boys are subject to sexual abuse as frequently as girls. In reported cases of
children subject to commercial sexual exploitation, 77 percent of the
children came from broken homes. Twenty-three percent lived with their
parents, but in those homes domestic violence was common. The biggest risk
faced by children who run away and live on the street is sexual exploitation.
Children kidnapped from southeastern provinces are forced into prostitution
here. Today, it is impossible to say for certain how many children in Turkey
are being subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, but many say official
information is off by at least 85 percent. An estimated 88,313 children in
Turkey live on the streets, Polat said, adding that
the country has the fourth-highest rate of underage substance abuse in the
world. Street
kids turned hockey champs to compete in Slovenia The Gaziantep
Police Force Field Hockey Team -- made up entirely of former street children
-- has been the nationwide field hockey champion three years running, and
will represent Turkey in the European Open Field Clubs Championship to be
held in Slovenia. Solve
the Problem of Street Children NIGHT SHELTERS AND REHABILITATION
NEEDED -
"Children and young people living on the streets need somewhere to stay
at night, and this needs to be provided by the municipalities. In Istanbul, at
least 10 night shelters need to be founded. Istanbul’s 32 district
municipalities need to come together and collaborate on a common project.
They have not done anything on this issue yet, but the problem could be
solved within a year if there were a project under the coordination of the
Greater Istanbul Municipality." Parties
promise to protect children but forget their rights WHAT IS THE PARTIES' APPROACH
REGARDING THE PROBLEMS OF STREET CHILDREN? - They just mention that they will rescue street
children, but how they will do it is not detailed. None of the parties has a
detailed project regarding street children, even though it is a huge problem.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) promises to put and end to the street
gangs that "breed" street children, but does not mention what is
going to happen to those children afterwards. These gangs, no matter how bad
they are for society, provide the only home-like environment street children
ever have. The children need rehabilitation programs, homes and education to
rejoin society, and the party does not mention such
projects at all. Children
From Street Do Organic Farming Street children in southern city
of Adana learn how to do organic farming thanks to
applied training courses organized in the framework of "social risk
mitigation project", supported by European Union (EU). Head of the Adana
Street Children Association Zuhal Bayildiran told AA that they bring street children into
social life through these vocational trainings. Bayildiran said 150 children have already
received certificates from courses on automotive, floriculture and food
sectors, and approximately one third of them are already employed. Street Children catch purse snatchers STREET CHILDREN CATCH PURSE
SNATCHERS – A young
girl, Meltem Dal, attacked
by a purse snatcher in Beyoğlu yesterday, was
rescued by the street children who live at the Kids of Hope (Umut Çocukları)
Association, the Star daily reported yesterday. Dal
realized her purse was opened and caught the 15-year-old snatcher girl from
her arm. However, when the snatcher's mother appeared suddenly, she started
to harass Dal, the daily wrote yesterday. The
street children from the association came to rescue Dal
as soon as they heard her screaming.
Two street children held the snatcher mother and daughter until police
arrived. The kids calmed Dal down. No one but these
street children helped her and she owes her life to these kids, said Star. A
‘practice of solidarity’ reaching out to working children in
Çankırı SOLIDARITY AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL - According to the data and
information studied by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in
corporation with workers' and employers' organizations and NGOs, the three
worst forms of child labor in Turkey have been identified: seasonal
agricultural work, work in small and medium sized enterprises under hazardous
conditions and working on the streets. At present 159 children in Çankırı have been identified as being at risk;
all of them are now receiving help from the project. In Governor Öner's words, those children "are happier than they
were in the past and the possibility of encountering similar situations has
been reduced to minimum level." Children get a future through recycling www.worldscrap.com/modules/news/article.php?aid=1928 www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=63364 Thanks to income from the Solid Waste
Recycling Project, some 350 street children in Turkey's southern city of Mersin received a chance to get an education. Children who were surviving by begging or selling chewing gum and handkerchiefs on
the streets are now attending school via
the project. Street
children saved via sports Kocaeli’s Gebze
district police has rehabilitated some 90 street
children so far with a project aiming to adapt them to society through
sports. Turfanda also said that they saw
significant changes in children who took part in the project, since their
self-confidence improved. He also called on the Gebze townspeople, public institutions and
non-governmental organizations to contribute to their efforts to adapt street
children to the society. To Boğaziçi University from
street vending www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=52983 Eight young people working as
street vendors have become a source of inspiration for children in similar
situations with impressive scores in the national university entrance examinations. Aksu said the children, who at times had
to continue street peddling, with their perseverance and zeal to succeed,
were living proof that being a "street child" was not an
inescapable fate, stating that even in the period when they had to work on
the street, none of them had gotten involved in crime or gone in the wrong
direction. Sixty percent of juvenile delinquents don’t attend school www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=51496 Erkan noted that street children could
be seen everywhere that internal migration, poverty and unemployment are
found. He said street children were those who could not cope with the abuse
and violence at home. They run away and are forced into criminal acts by
others while living on the streets. He added that the characteristics all
street children shared were the lack of any childhood, family affection and a
proper diet. Turkey sets the standard on helping street children www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=47386 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
The system While there are efforts in many
provinces around the country to rehabilitate and educate these children, the
work that goes into it also provides an inspiration for others. Country-by-Country Listings www.helpsavekids.org/country2.html At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
TURKEY/GREECE - TURKEY IS A COUNTRY
OF ORIGIN, TRANSIT, AND DESTINATION - Street children, as young as 6 years old, are the most
visible part of the population of Making a Difference for
Children: Street Children THE SITUATION - Numbers of children living and/or
working on the streets of Turkish cities have visibly increased in recent
years. Many children who live at home are
forced by their parents to work on the streets in order to supplement
household income. Some who come from abusive
families seek refuge on the streets. Unable to apply themselves to
study or even to attend school, many of these children have dropped out of
the educational system and grow up with little hope of gaining appropriate
training or certification for a skilled job. While on the streets, many of
these children are subject to maltreatment, physical and/or sexual abuse,
disease, malnutrition and substance abuse. Say Yes (the Quarterly
Newsletter of UNICEF Turkey, Spring 2005) Mahmut Oral Taking the case of Diyarbakır
as an example, we see that although the numbers of children living on the
street could be counted in the hundreds as recently as 1995, these children
now make up a group of as many as 20,000 in this city today. Say Yes (the Quarterly
Newsletter of UNICEF Turkey, Spring 2005) Yusuf Kulca It is not surprising that numbers
of street children in Protecting
Street Children in Turkey Eleven-year-old Mustafa regularly
comes to the Laundry to get clean clothes, a hot meal, and spend the
night. Mustafa is a runaway who, like
hundreds of other street children in Istanbul, has learned to rely on the
Laundry, a community center that includes a laundry service, cafeteria,
.first aid station, overnight shelter, and even offers haircuts, if
youngsters need them. Off the Street and Back to School [DOC] www.enothe.hva.nl/meet/ac06/Presentations/Project%20outline%2017.4.1.doc
In Turkey, there is a considerable
problem of many thousands of street children, although their precise numbers
vary from city to city and often depend on the season of the year. Police
sources in World
Bank - Country Specific Small Grants Program Evaluation Committee Meeting Project No: #20 - to organize public information
campaign and provide training related to the drug addicted children of the Project No: #24 - bringing together about 40 street
children under a group that revolves around folkloric dances. Teaching them
to dance and perform on stage will enable them to breathe a different
atmosphere. The trainers who teach them how to dance, act and behave will have
pedagogic skills. Center for working street children in www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/ankara/programme/ipec/projects/bien98_99_2.htm At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Development Objective: to
contribute to the elimination of working street children through strengthening
the local initiatives to improve the lives of children and their parents. Rehabilitation and prevention of working children in Gölcük and Adapazari, Marmara Earthquake Region www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/ankara/programme/ipec/projects/bien00_01_2.htm At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Immediate Objective: to withdraw
1000 working children and children at high risk of becoming child laborers
from work and provide them with rehabilitative, educational, health,
nutrition, psycho-social and crisis counseling services while assisting their
families through the provision of social support, A Film Puts Faces
On Unseen Street Children All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
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Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin,
"Street Children - |
Human Trafficking in [Turkey] [other countries]Street Children in [Turkey Child Prostitution in [Turkey] [other countries]