400,000 minors abused by inner circle person in Turkey: Report

ISTANBUL

Up to 400,000 children have been sexually abused by family members or relatives in the past 20 years in Turkey according to official reports, Turkish daily Taraf reported July 21. DHA photo

Up to 400,000 children have been sexually abused by family members or relatives in the past 20 years in Turkey according to official reports, Turkish daily Taraf reported yesterday.

Reports from Social Services and the Child Protection Institution, and the Children Bureaus of the Police Department have shown that the number of under-aged being sexually assaulted by a family member or someone close to the child or family lies between 350,000 and 400,000 in the last 20 years. Reports have shown that 80 percent of the perpetrators either directly know the child or the parents closely.

Only 27 percent of sexually abused children shared their situation with someone, though this usually happened long after the assault took place, while the larger part did not tell anyone about the abuse they underwent. A total of 32 percent of these children did not speak to anyone about the sexual assault even after they became adults.

Reports also showed that Turkey ranked number one in searches on sexual images of children within the 13-19 years age bracket, while Turkey tops the list in searches for the words “çocuk pornosu/child porn” on the Google search engine. The children aged between 13 and 19, who can be seen in sexual images and footage found online, number over 36,000. Of these children, 42 percent are under the age of seven, whereas 77 percent are aged nine or younger. Only one percent of the children whose images are put online could be identified.