What a child cannot be

Child abuse has recently come to the fore again after two abuse cases in the southern provinces of Antalya and Adana.

A child is a child, and cannot be a sexual object. Nobody can see a child as a sexual object. Anyone who sees a child this way, is not a normal person, but a pervert. Unfortunately, recent cases have shown that such people live in our society.

These perverts must be prevented from living freely as part of a community without having had treatment. New legal measures, including chemical castration, is a right move. This idea should be immediately put into practice in a scientifically suitable way without losing any more time.

Children cannot be brides

A child is a child, and cannot be a bride!

It is a crime to wed children. It is also a crime to ignore child marriage under the name of “tradition.” Decriminalizing child marriage by saying “the child gave consent to marriage” is taking part in this crime.

They are “children,” they cannot give consent to marriage. They do not understand the concept, and can neither give consent nor object to it. Parents ruining their children’s life cannot be defended or justified with excuses.

Unfortunately, three types of crime in Turkey enjoy a special sort of protection: Child abuse, child marriage and rape. Parents justify these crimes by considering them in terms of “consent”.

People to whom we entrust our children are important. A kindergarten teacher or an elementary school teacher should bear as much responsibility as parents. They should protect children from sexual abuse, train them about it and teach them to ask for help. Families should do the same. They should raise their children’s awareness of sexual abuse as far as possible.

Penalties against child abusers should be much harsher. These perverts should not benefit from reduced sentence and should definitely be treated.

Schools and kindergartens should be inspected carefully. Campaigns should be launched to warn adults and raise awareness about child abuse. Those who work with children should undergo medical and mental health examination before they start their job. These examinations must be repeated at certain intervals.

Children cannot be workers

A child is a child, and cannot be a worker!

Children must play in the garden or at school. Not slaving away in an automobile repair shop or carpenter shop. They should not sell water, flowers or tissue on streets or in front of restaurants. Children should enjoy being children. And the social state is responsible for ensuring this.

Human rights

Mistreatment of women is a human rights violation.

By their nature, women’s rights or children’s rights arise from the rights we possess just by being human. The most fundamental human right is the right to live. In fact, this is valid for animals too. They have the right to live and any maltreatment towards them is also a crime and should be severely punished.

Efforts of Hürriyet

Hürriyet makes considerable effort to raise awareness in society about these issues and to push officials to take action against these crimes.

For instance, we cover a new topic every week on our page “Ses Ver” (Give a Voice) to raise awareness and to prompt officials to take necessary measures. Indeed, we hear both from people and the state, which leads to new measures.

In this way we aspire to perform human rights journalism and will continue to do so.