Court gives custody of child to 'abusive' father

"Sexual abuse is preventable" (Photo: csgorselarsiv.org)

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"The case was showing signs of anger, fear, and hyperactivity that developed later when I started play therapy sessions with Y.B.Y.

"At the same time, I was consulted with the suspicion of sexual abuse. Y., who did not make any verbal or metaphorical statements about sexual abuse in the first 3 sessions, had a serious trust problem.

"Children need time to establish a secure bond, and they test the credibility of the adult on themselves for a long time to talk about their trauma such as sexual abuse.

"The child only played games of anger and fear, which were very short and disconnected, mostly games to test me, until the child was sure that I was a trustworthy adult.

"However, after the therapeutic bond and trust between the case and I developed, Y. started to make clear verbal and metaphorical statements about sexual abuse in the 4th session and the following. Y.'s words about sexual abuse in the sessions are as follows."

Selçuk Civil Court of First Instance in İzmir, which did not recognize these and similar reports prepared by an expert psychologist, gave the temporary custody of 3-year-old Y. to the abusive father.

Refik Y. and Nazlı U., who live in Selçuk district of İzmir, decided to divorce. Since there was no Family Court in Selçuk, the issue was transferred to the Penal Court of First Instance.

While Refik and Nazlı's divorce processes continue, a lawsuit was filed for the custody of 3-year-old Y.B. and M.M.

At the hearing held on March 24, 2021, Nazlı U.'s lawyers presented expert reports and psychologist views to the court proving that the father abused Y.B.

However, the court gave temporary custody of the child to the father, taking into account the social study report (SİR) prepared by a single psychologist.

The court determined certain hours on Saturdays every week for the mother to meet the children. The next hearing of the trial will take place on June 9th.

Lawyers appealed the decision

After this decision, the lawyers of mother Nazlı U. appealed the decision. While the findings that the child was abused were explained one by one in the appeal petition, the following statements were included:

"The general reason for giving the child to the father is the social study report dated 21/02/2021. Although we appealed to this social study report on 05/03/2021, the decision of a single pedagogue, without receiving a new social study report by the delegation including a specialist in the field of child psychiatry, evaluating the physical findings on the medically joint child Y.B. by a specialist psychiatrist, was taken into account in giving the temporary custody of the joint children to the complainant father and, therefore, is against the procedure and the law."

Request from lawyers to listen to experts in court

Again, lawyers Özgür Baykal and Fırat Güneş pointed out that the child was a victim and drew attention to the following points:

"With all these reports we previously submitted to the court, it was clearly understood that the joint child was abused by the father, these issues were not taken into consideration in the report and it was concluded that our client tried to prevent the personal relationship between the joint child and the complainant father.

"When the overall case and the reports submitted by us are examined, the reason for our client's efforts will be clearly seen.

"In order to compare our justified claim with the doctor reports submitted by us, a new report would be obtained by the delegation, which includes a specialist in the field of child psychiatry, and a healthier result would be obtained regarding the victimization experienced."

A new SİR must be issued

Lawyers Özgür Baykal and Fırat Güneş demanded that the decision of giving temporary custody to the father, considering the best interests of the child, be abandoned and the objection to the social study report be accepted.

Lawyers Baykal and Güneş also requested that a new social study report get issued by the delegation, which includes a specialist in the field of child psychiatry, and that expert psychologists be heard at the court by eliminating the missing issues in the court petition.

However, the court also denied all these requests.

Keskin: The mother is devastated

Lawyer Eren Keskin, Co-Chair of the Human Rights Association, gave the following information about the case:

"When this file reached me, I couldn't believe my eyes. The very young child, which can be considered as a baby, is abused by the father. Considering the abuse, it is inconceivable that the child is given to the father. The mother is devastated. Nobody hears this mother's voice. The mother is seeking justice. We want everyone to see this situation. There is a great grievance.

"The family judge who handed the child over to the father and the prosecutor who gave the decision of non-prosecution regarding the criminal complaint made by the mother are married. This is another side of the situation. The mother doesn't know what to do.

"She seems to be abducting the child now, but if she handed the child over to the father, she would be handing the child over to the father whose abuse has been documented by reports. We want this decision to be corrected as soon as possible. We want the custody of the child to be taken from the father and given to the mother."

(EMK/DCE/VK)