The rate of children involved in violence and crime in Turkey is also worrying. The latest footage of 8 children beating another child to the ground with kicks, slaps and punches in Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, is a striking document of the problem. The magnitude of the seriousness is also reflected in the “Increasing Crime Rates Statistics of Children Brought to or Coming to Security Units – 2023” report announced by TÜİK the other day. According to the statistics, the number of incidents involving children brought to or coming to security units in the last year was determined to be 537,583. While 242,875 of these children were victimized in these incidents, 178,834 were dragged into crime.
39.8 PERCENT INJURED!
According to one-year data, 39.8 percent of children involved in crime were involved in injuries, Of the children who were brought to the security unit due to involvement in crime, 39.8 percent were charged with wounding, 20.8 percent with theft, 7.7 percent with violation of the passport law, 4.9 percent with using, selling or buying drugs or stimulants, and 4 percent with threats.
242 THOUSAND VICTIMS
On the other hand, 89.7 percent of the 242,875 children who came to the security units as victims were crime victims, and 10.2 percent were incident victims who needed to be followed up.It was determined that of the 217,915 children who were brought to or came to the security units as victims of crime, 61.3 percent were victims of injuries, 11.8 percent of sexual crimes, 8.6 percent of crimes against family order, 4.4 percent of threats and 13.9 percent of other reasons.
VIOLENCE AFFECTS CONTENT
Dr. Psychologist Zeynep Gamze Kalkanlı stated that the recent increase in peer bullying and criminal tendencies among children is alarming and said: “Before the images in Büyükçekmece, 15 people got together and killed a child. As well as violence against women, the rates of involvement in crime and peer bullying among children are also increasing. The punishments are inadequate, families are uninformed, and the images reflected in the media are negative.”
Kalkanlı added that the images reflected from institutions and places where the fight should never have happened caused negative perceptions in citizens and also gave the following information: “I watched the fight that took place in the Parliament the other day with tears. If blood is shed in the Parliament, you cannot stop the violence in the streets. Children are growing up with violent content reflected on social media and screens. Many parameters, from the education system to domestic violence, are the source of the problem.”
EMOTIONAL VIOLENCE IS ALSO COMMON
“Children who are subjected to violence or witness violence at home do the same on the street. Children who are attacked can also become prone to crime after a while. Unfortunately, the picture that emerges is not encouraging. The 0-6 age range is very important in child development. Children internalize what they see in the environment they grow up in during this age range. We only talk about physical violence, but emotional violence is also at terrifying levels. There is also increasing drug use among adolescents. If the problems between the mother and father are not resolved through reconciliation, if the child does not see this environment at home, no matter what we do, we will not be able to make progress. I am warning you now. The rate of refugee children getting involved in crime will also increase in the coming days. This problem must be solved. The increasing number of refugees may be reflected in violence and crime rates.”
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