‘Why Don’t You Share Statistics on Sexual Abuse of Children with the Public?’

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP Oya Ersoy has submitted a Parliamentary question to Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül and addressed him a series of questions about the sexual abuse of children in Turkey.

Ersoy has submitted the Parliamentary question because statistics on sexual abuse of children in 2018 have not yet been shared with the public.

According to bianet Male Violence Monitoring Reports, at least 184 children were abused in the first nine months of 2019.

'Do you plan reduced sentences for abusers?'

In her Parliamentary question, HDP MP Ersoy has addressed a series of questions to Minister Gül including the following:

• How many lawsuits of child abuse were held in 2002 -2019?
• How many people were penalized in sexual abuse cases heard between 2002 and 2019?
• How many people were acquitted after being put on trial as defendants in child abuse cases?
• Why cannot we access data on sexual abuse of children in Ministry of Justice report "The Number of Crimes and Defendants in Lawsuits Filed at Heavy Penal Courts in accordance with the Turkish Penal Code (TCK)?
• Does the "Judicial Reform" Package plans to introduce reduced sentences for child abusers?
• Is data on sexual abuse of children kept confidential from the public because the "Judicial Reform" Package plans to introduce reduced sentences for child abusers?

'AKP was supposed to develop solutions, but...'

Ersoy has emphasized that while the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was supposed to develop solutions for these worrisome incidents in its 17-year rule, it submitted a bill of law to the General Assembly of the Parliament in 2016, foreseeing that the child abuser would not be penalized in the event that he married the child.

She has reminded Minister Gül that this bill had to be withdrawn after women's and children's rights defenders condemned the proposed legislation and it caused a strong public reaction.

'Comply with İstanbul Convention'

Oya Ersoy has reminded Minister Gül that Turkey is a party to the İstanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence and made a call on the government to comply with the convention so that sexual abuse of children could be prevented.

Ersoy has also expressed her concerns and suspicions that the "Judicial Reform" Package will introduce reduced sentences for child abusers. Having shared the crime data with the public in detail every year, the Ministry of Justice has not yet announced the statistics on child abuse in 2018 because they are obscene, which raises these concerns and suspicions. (EMK/SD)