Front, Back, Right, Left Sobe: WHERE ARE CHILDREN'S RIGHTS?

What are the latest data on children’s rights? What are the urgent steps that need to be taken? Gizem Ocak, our Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Sector Manager, calls on all individuals, society and relevant institutions to take action together for children in her article written on November 20, International Children's Rights Day.

I wish I had used this nursery rhyme that children say at the start of a game as the title of an article in which I talk about the importance of play in children's development: Front, Back, Right, Left Sobe! However, on November 20, International Children's Rights Day, we find ourselves in a world where children who should be growing up playing are struggling with rights violations and harsh living conditions. Therefore, our focus is on children's rights, which we hold dear and whose vital importance we must emphasize more and more every day, and the title of my article is shaped by this critical question: Where are children's rights?

The Convention on the Rights of the Child: Ideals and Realities

Today, November 20, is International Children's Rights Day. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed on November 20, 1989, is the human rights instrument ratified by the largest number of countries in the world. Turkiye signed the Convention in 1990 and it came into force in 1995. The Convention includes fundamental principles such as supporting the right of every child to life and development, safeguarding the best interests of the child in all situations, ensuring equal application to all children without discrimination, and guaranteeing children's right to participation. On paper, these principles seem to ensure that children grow up happy and healthy, but the reality is unfortunately far from these ideals.

Diyarbakır, Kerem Uzel

Especially when we are shaken by crises such as wars, conflicts, disasters and deep poverty, children's rights are overshadowed by the struggle for survival and the need to survive. In the recent past, we have observed a significant increase in violations of children's rights due to the pandemic. Many children have been denied access to education and health care, exposed to domestic violence and abuse, and their development has been severely impacted by deepening poverty. Although the pandemic is no longer on our agenda, the scars it left are still visible. The disasters that followed have further exacerbated these rights violations. Children who lost their homes in the February 6 earthquakes are living in shelters with inadequate health, hygiene and nutrition conditions, and their social and cultural development has been interrupted. Due to inadequate security, children in shelters are vulnerable to abuse, violence and abduction. The destruction of schools, disruption of education, and restrictions on transportation can also lead to violations of children's right to education.

Turkiye's Child Rights Report: Where are the Children?

According to the data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the child population of Turkiye is 22 million 206 thousand 34 by the end of 2023. So, where are we in terms of children's rights in our country where 26% of the population consists of children?

According to TurkStat data for 2023-2024, approximately 612 thousand children of compulsory education age who are citizens of the Republic of Turkiye are out of education. In addition, approximately 242 thousand 'foreign children' are also deprived of education. It is stated that the dropout from education is increasing due to economic conditions, child labor and early and forced marriages.

Child poverty is one of the most critical issues. According to EUROSTAT data, 45.4%, almost half of the children in Turkiye are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Data from TurkStat's Income and Living Conditions Survey also show that more than 30% of children struggle with poverty. Child labor is also increasing dramatically due to the economic downturn. We do not have exact numbers on this issue, but according to TÜİK data, 22.1% of children in the 15-17 age group in the age group of compulsory education in Turkiye participate in the labor force. And the conditions are very harsh for these children. According to the data of Fikir ve Sanat Atölyesi Derneği (FİSA) Children’s Rights Center, at least 45 children who were employed in heavy and unregistered work lost their lives in work murders in 2023.

Violence against and disappearance of children is a social wound that became visible once again with the murder of 8-year-old Narin in September. According to the information obtained by FISA by scanning only media reports, at least 133 children have died as a result of domestic violence, child murders or suspicious deaths since 2022.

Child, early and forced marriages continue to be an important problem. According to TURKSTAT Marriage Statistics, 11.000 children in the 16-17 age group were forced into early and forced marriages in 2023. This situation takes away girls' right to education and has a permanent impact on their lives.

The global situation is also disturbing. According to UNICEF, approximately 370 million girls are sexually abused before the age of 18. When online violence and psychological pressure are added, the number rises to 650 million. Such violations demonstrate that children's fundamental rights are under serious threat around the world.

Roadmap for Children's Rights

Poverty, labor, neglect and abuse, disappearance, exclusion, discrimination, violence, death... All these cases, which should not be mentioned together with the word child, point to the urgency of the steps that need to be taken. What can be done to combat the rights violations and risks faced by children can be discussed under several headings:

• The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Child Protection Act should be implemented for all children without discrimination; a monitoring and reporting system should be established to rapidly respond to violations of rights.
• Ensure that every child has access to safe shelter, hygiene, healthy food and clean water, especially in temporary settlements such as container cities and tent sites.
• Ensure that every child has access to education through the use of portable or online educational materials. Social and economic support should be provided to children who do not have access to education, and the necessary sanctions should be imposed by public authorities in cases of neglect.
• Workplaces where children are employed should be identified and workplaces where child labor is used should be effectively inspected.
• Measures to ensure the active participation of children with disabilities and their families in social life should be implemented and their access rights should be guaranteed.
• Awareness-raising activities should be carried out for children and adults on issues such as neglect, abuse, children's rights and privacy.
• Safe and supportive environmental conditions should be created for children; parks, green spaces, areas suitable for sports and art activities should be provided.
• Awareness-raising activities should be carried out to help children feel physically and emotionally safe and to protect themselves, and ways of recognizing risks and asking for help should be practiced one-on-one with children through age-appropriate 'being safe' sessions.
• Advocacy by all members of society, particularly civil society organizations, should be strengthened for every child who does not have access to his or her rights, and community-based activities to promote children's rights should be encouraged.
• Provide accessible and effective psychosocial support services to children and their families facing child protection risks.
• Mechanisms should be established through which children can actively participate in decision-making processes on all issues that affect them.

Expressing Children's Rights Everywhere

As a humanitarian worker, my work with children over the years has shown me how much change can be made when children's rights are respected. As part of the mental health and psychosocial support work I have been involved in for many years under the umbrella of Support to Life, we organize structured sessions with children on emotions, self-perception, social skills, peer bullying, gender equality, adolescent and reproductive health, and many other topics. With sessions on children's rights, hygiene, privacy awareness, and protection from sexual abuse and exploitation, we accompany children in raising their awareness to protect themselves. In the committees we form with the children, we create space for their active participation in decision-making processes that affect them. In fact, on November 20^th this year, our press release was prepared by the children's committees in Hatay and Şanlıurfa. Their slogan is: "Nobody can take away our rights." In all our work with children, we see that when children pass on what they have learned to their peers, they begin to raise their voices against the rights violations around them. Through specialized psychological support and our work with parents, we work to support children' empowerment and ensure they grow up in a safe environment. In addition to our activities, we continue to loudly voice our demands for the implementation of existing laws and the functioning of child protection mechanisms to eliminate the risks faced by children.

Our greatest wish is to witness a time when all children can answer the question "where are children's rights?" with "everywhere". I would like to express my gratitude first to the children, and to all my colleagues and team members who have stood by me in this cause. And a final word; World Children's Rights Day is not just a celebration; it is a call for the struggle for rights. Let's answer this call together for all children.

* Remziye Yeşilyaprak, Team Leader of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Program made valuable contributions to the preparation of this article.  

** This article was published on Gazete Duvar on November 20, 2024.

Zehra Gizem Ocak
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Sector Manager, Istanbul