Students of IGU Faculty of Health Sciences Social Work Turkish Department Melek Bilgin, Esengül Çelik and Zehra Kaçmaz drew attention to the children who were dragged into crime by sharing their opinions about the social service profession. Regarding this, they shared the following views with us:
"When we look at the concepts of child and family, we see that families lay the groundwork for their children's future and self. This situation can be either good or bad. The possibilities and attitudes offered by the family for both types of aspects affect the child. In this respect, the first issue we need to deal with in relation to personality will be the concept of "Self". Because the concept of "Self" is established through family relationships. The child's first social environment and social perception gain experience in the family. For this reason, a child who grows up devoid of love and attention seeks a place for herself/himself in these gaps. If she/he cannot find the satisfaction she/he seeks in the family, she/he turns to the outside. When we look at the situation in our country, we do not create a healthy and safe environment for children. Under these conditions, a child who seeks love, attention and satisfaction may find herself/himself guilty. There is no child who has committed a crime, there is juvenile pushed to crime.
So if a child was raised "on the street", is that child first of all a "child"? Or is it a whole human being imprisoned in a child's body? While childhood is a sensitive period that should be respected by caregivers with love, care, understanding and respect, what does it mean for a child to beg, work or engage in various crimes on the street? There are 3 most common types of crime in our country. Crimes against the person (1); Crimes against property (2); Sexual crimes (3). Raising our children without their physiological needs, normalizing the constantly cited blood feuds, fights, conflicts, and continuing to treat the education of sexual urges as a shame will lead children to various criminal factors. Because children who are unaware that what is normalized is a violation of rights, will continue to be dragged into crime by the society.
As families and individuals living in this society, it is our responsibility to meet the basic needs of children and to prevent them from being dragged into crime by giving them a happy childhood. From this point of view, juvenile delinquency concerns many disciplines and professional groups. Mentioning the units related to juvenile delinquency in our country will be useful in understanding the interventions. The first of these units is the Children Services. Branch manager, deputy manager and a total of 21 civil servants in various units work in the Children Services. According to the Law 236/3 of the Criminal Procedure Law, a social service specialist is available in the management staff in accordance with the provision that "specialists in the field of psychology, psychiatry, medicine or education are present during the interviews of the child victims or people whose psychology is impaired due to the crime committed." In this regard, the social worker is present at the statements of the child victims and is responsible for conducting social investigations regarding the children. The second is the Social Services Provincial Directorate. In addition to other areas of duty, it continues its activities by establishing units for street children and children working on the street. With its units, individuals or groups who are disadvantaged (poor, homeless, elderly and disabled, immigrants, women or children victims of violence, children living or working on the streets, addicts, problematic or broken families, etc.) aims to raise healthy families and generations for the society. Finally, and thirdly, they are Non-Governmental Organizations. Sharing the same space within the scope of "Umutevi", "Sokak Çocukları Derneği/Street Child Association" continues its activities. The basic building block of these institutions is the Child Protection Law No. 5395. According to this law, if the child is dragged into crime, security measures are taken. These measures: (1) Supporting the child in the field of counseling, health and education under the name of "Supportive Measures" alongside the family; (2) As "Protective Measures", it includes taking the child into institutional care and custody, either temporarily or permanently. The legal basis for this is that the responsibility of raising children, which is included in Article 18 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, belongs to the state along with the parents, that the legal representatives should be given appropriate assistance to the parents to fulfill their responsibilities and the legal representative should be guided. In addition, article 27 of the same contract states that financial aid and support programs will be implemented by the state for those who take care of the child in the implementation of their rights.
Within the framework of all these, "childhood" is the most precious period of all the developmental stages we have passed. Therefore, the childhood of children should be protected and parents, caregivers and the state should fulfill their responsibilities with great devotion in order for children to live their childhood in the most productive way."
