‘Over 42,000 children at risk on streets’

ANKARA

The “children in safe teams” of the Family and Social Services Ministry has determined that 42,306 children who live, work or beg on the streets are at risk of not having a physically and mentally healthy life and receiving education as a result of its six-year field survey and study.

Guidance services were provided to the families of approximately 18,000 of these children. As a result of the legal proceedings, education, counseling and heath measures were taken for nearly 8,000 children, while 709 children were placed in institutions affiliated to the ministry.

More than 13,000 children benefited from social and economic support services or social assistance programs. Legal action was initiated regarding the families of 1,370 children. Through interventions, a total of 1,913 children have been ensured to continue their education.

Within the scope of the field study that will conclude at the end of this year, research studies are also being conducted regarding the social policies of countries that effectively prevent child labor, notably Germany, France, and Romania.

According to the child labor survey by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), it is estimated that there are nearly 720,000 children between the ages of 5 and 17 engaged in economic activities in Türkiye.

Only 65.7 percent of working children continue their education, while the rate is determined as 65.6 percent for boys, and 66.1 percent for girls.