Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) has been one of the most significant social problems in both Turkey and the world for many years. Early marriages, which affect millions of children, particularly girls, are also a violation of human rights and a form of violence against women and girls.
Various crises (such as the pandemic, earthquakes, and wars) trigger child, early and forced marriages, and a recent study revealed that children under state protection are at a higher risk of child early forced marriages. According to the research conducted by Hayat Sende, an organization implemented by a group of young people who grew up in state care, children who do not have adequate support during their time in institutional care face the danger of forced early marriage.
We discussed this painful issue with Hayat Sende, which conducted a study addressing forced early marriages among children in state care.
In December, you held a workshop regarding child, early and forced marriages focusing on children under state protection. You also shared the results of this study in a report. Who participated in this workshop?
We organized the "Workshop on Preventing Child, Early and Forced Marriage for Girls and Young Women with Experience in State Care" on 2 and 3 December 2023 in Ankara, which was attended by 37 people from 21 institutions. Five institutions from the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs, both at regional and central level, and 16 civil society organizations, including Cinsiyet Eşitliği İzleme Derneği, Mor Çatı Kadın Sığınağı Vakfı, Malatya Yetiştirme Yurtlarından Ayrılanlar Yardımlaşma Derneği and İstanbul Koruyucu Aile Derneği participated. The workshop included 10 participants with experience in public welfare, 15 social service specialists and 1 academic.
Your report states that children under state care are at a higher risk of child, early and forced marriages. Can you elaborate on this? What are the reasons for this situation? Do we have an average number regarding early marriages?
We know that girls and women raised under state protection are at risk of child, early and forced marriages, but we do not have a specific number. As a result of our field research, we prepared a report on subject experiences. When we asked 7 women we interviewed, “How many women do you know who grew up in state care and married at an early age?” they stated that they knew a total of 82 women who experienced forced early marriages while being raised in state care. Although this does not provide a general number, it highlights the significance of the situation.
The workshop revealed the following reasons for child, early and forced marriages:
- Lack of supportive and healthy family structures
- The process of returning to the biological family without adequate support
- Psychosocial problems experienced by the child/youth and the challenging circumstances they are in
- Negative experiences during the period of being under protection
- Inability to access adequate support during the process of leaving care after turning 18
- The inadequacy of the child protection system in providing a holistic protective-preventive approach
- Difficulties in the implementation of legislation and policies
- The community's normalization approach
- The media's incentivizing effect
Institutional Support Is Vital in the Fight Against Child, Early and Forced Marriage
In the report, you state that the reason for a child's placement in care can also be the result of child early and forced marriage. Can you elaborate on this?
Throughout the workshop, we aimed to answer the question correctly: "Are girls and women pushed into child, early and forced marriages because they are placed under protection?"
The answer to this question is "no." However, it was observed that accessing adequate support during their time in institutional care is crucial in preventing child, early and forced marriages. The workshop revealed two profiles regarding the experiences of girls and young women raised under protection who faced the risk of early and forced marriages. The first profile consists of those who have been raised in care from a young age and who, due to their experience in institutional care, their need for attention and love, or the guidance of their biological family, have experienced forced and early marriages.
The second profile includes those who were placed under protection after the age of 13 because they were already at risk of forced and early marriages. This group includes individuals who did not have access to adequate protective and preventive interventions while in care, those who, for various reasons, wished to marry themselves, and those who experienced forced and early marriages due to the guidance of their biological families.
The reason for discussing this difference is that child, early and forced marriage is not solely caused by institutional care. Focusing only on this aspect means overlooking other groups at risk.
If we speak more generally, how many children are currently under state care in Turkey? How many children leave state care each year?
approximate number is that this figure constantly changes. However, the estimated figure is around 25,000. Of these 25,000 children, about 15,000 are in institutional care, while around 10,000 are being prepared for life in foster families. On average, 3,000 young people leave state care each year when they turn 18.
Children Leaving Care Are Unprepared for Daily Life
In the report, you mention that only about one in ten of the young people who leave care continue to higher education. Can you elaborate on this? What is the situation for children after they turn 18 and leave care? What problems do they face?
The process of leaving care can be quite complex and traumatic for young people. Many express feeling like "a fish out of water" when they leave care. This is because institutional care does not provide the necessary conditions for children's integration into social life. Childcare institutions, by their nature, offer an isolated life away from society. Generally, we see that children's homes are established in remote areas of cities, enclosed spaces with limited interaction with the outside world. In this situation, it can be very difficult for a child who has never paid a bill, never created a shopping budget, or never cooked a meal to leave the institution at the age of 18.
Children and young people raised under protection need to be prepared for life as adults from the beginning of their care process and supported during their transition to independent living after care. Failure to manage this process effectively negatively impacts the life struggles, social integration, and psychosocial well-being of children facing disadvantaged circumstances.
For example, children leaving care face serious challenges in housing and adjusting to working life. Consequently, they are at risk of loneliness, being pushed into early marriages, and need economic and psychosocial support, yet they struggle to access this support systematically.
Additionally, it is observed that the rates of continuing education and academic success among children under protection are very low. Each year, the percentage of those appointed as university graduates is below 10%. In contrast, nearly half of the children raised in state care are employed in service positions as primary school graduates. This results in increased risks related to adaptation and other processes.
There Are Problematic Provisions in the Social Services Law
In the report, you mention a provision in the legislation that discusses a one-time aid for a child under protection in the event of marriage, which you define as a risk. Can you elaborate on this?
Article 32 of the Social Services Law provides for a dowry aid to be given to girls under protection. The problematic aspect here is that this aid is only available to children/young people who marry and leave care, and it is exclusively for girls.
This is a previously enacted provision, but its current application poses a risk. In its present form, it risks being interpreted as encouraging children and young people under protection to marry at an early age. Therefore, we recommend amending this support to include men as well and replacing the phrase "girls under protection" with "children whose protection order has ended and who marry after the age of 18."
Current Article: Article 32 of the Social Services Law No. 2828: "A one-time marriage assistance, equivalent to one and a half times the highest civil servant salary, will be provided to girls under protection in social service institutions of the institution upon their marriage to meet their dowry needs. This assistance will be paid without being subject to any taxes or deductions."
Proposed Solution: It is proposed that Article 32 of the Social Services Law be amended to include men and to change the phrase "girls under protection" to "children whose protection order has ended and who marry after the age of 18."
Proposed Article: "A one-time marriage assistance, equivalent to one and a half times the highest civil servant salary, will be provided to children whose protection order has ended and who marry after the age of 18 in social service institutions of the institution to meet their dowry needs. This assistance will be paid without being subject to any taxes or deductions."