Turkish children suffer from high rates of parental abuse, study says
ŞÜKRAN PAKKAN
ISTANBUL - Milliyet
Almost half of the children in a recent study were beaten by teachers at schools
Daily Milliyet has granted its Annual Research Award in memory of journalist Örsan Öymen to Associate Professor Sezer Ayan from Cumhuriyet University in Sivas for her study titled “Family and Violence.” The research emphasizes that one third of children are beaten by adults at home and one in two mothers beats her children
Daily Milliyet has granted its Annual Research Award to a study on violence in the home in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas that showed 33 percent of children are beaten at home and that children exposed to abuse are more likely to be aggressive.
“Domestic violence is always an issue in Turkey,” Associate Professor Sezer Ayan said, adding that she interviewed a total of 655 students in 70 primary schools for the study in Sivas.
The research on the violence received a prestigious award from Milliyet that is given in the memory of journalist Örsan Öymen. The research by Ayan from the Sociology Department of Cumhuriyet University in Sivas, emphasized that one in three children were beaten by adults at home and one in two mothers beats their children.
The theme of Milliyet’s award is crimes against children, a critical issue in Turkey. Ayan’s research titled, “Family and Violence: Violence against Children in Family,” was published in February 2010 as a book.
The jury found Ayan’s research worthy of award for meeting the conditions set by Milliyet and for its focus on the issue in psychological-social, historic and judicial perspective.
Mothers use slippers to beat children; fathers slap them in the face
In the families surveyed, more than half of the parents said they had loud fights, mostly due to children or money. More than one in four men slap, kick and beat their wives, or pull their hair or cause material damage in the house, Ayan said.
When fathers fight with mothers, they usually scold their children as well, some even beating them.
“It seems children were beaten for not doing what they were told, having fights with siblings or for not studying. Girls are exposed to violence by their mothers as boys are by their fathers,” she said.
“Almost half of the children in the study were also beaten by teachers at schools. Most parents justify violence in school because they think teachers are always right,” said Ayan.
Her researched revealed the fact 54 percent of mothers beat their children.
The study showed 14 percent of children were slapped using slippers, 10 percent were slapped in the face, and 9 percent were punished by pulling their ears. Another 10 percent were scolded.
“Thirty-two percent of children are exposed to violence by either their mother or father at least once a week,” Ayan said.
Forty-six percent of fathers beat their children, according to Ayan, who said: “Children beaten up by their mothers are exposed to violence by their father and vice versa. Fifteen percent of fathers who beat their children slap them in the face.”
Children facing violence more aggressive
As part of the research, the aggressive tendencies of students subjected to domestic violence were measured. “Students who are treated with violence at home seem more aggressive,” she said.
There are several reasons behind resorting to violence, said Ayan.
“Couples who have children despite their lack of parenthood qualifications from social-cultural, economic and psychological perspectives give importance to gender discrimination for the socialization of girls and boys, putting all the responsibility on females for the protection of virtue, meaning sexuality becomes a taboo in this sense,” she said.
It is also important to understand and analyze the background for domestic violence, she added.
“The legitimization of violence in Turkish families as a method of solution to problems is another reason behind domestic violence,” Ayan said.
Who is Ayan?
Born in 1970 in the Mediterranean province of Adana, Ayan completed primary school in the southern province of Adana, and secondary and high schools in the neighboring province of Kahramanmaraş. She graduated from the Sociology Department at the Faculty of Literature at Cumhuriyet University in 1989. Ayan got her Master’s in the Institute of Social Sciences at the same university in 1992 and her Ph.D. in 2006. Ayan has also worked as a faculty member in the Faculty of Literature’s Sociology Deparment. Her area of specialization is violence against children in families and children’s criminality. Ayan’s articles have been published in journals and she has a book to her name.
Who is on the jury?
The jury of Milliyet consists of lawyer Fatma Başar, chairwoman of the Istanbul Bar Center for Children’s Rights; Professor Sevda Bekman, faculty member at the Department of Primary Education at Boğaziçi University; Professor Aysel Çeliker, chairwoman of the Support for Contemporary Living Association, or ÇYDD; Ceyda Dedeoğu, child protection expert at UNICEF Turkey; Dr. Bülent İlik, former director general of the Society for the Protection of Children; Altan Öymen, daily Radikal columnist; Ayşen Özyeğin, founding chairwoman of Mother-Child Education Foundation; Cengiz Solakoğlu, CEO of The Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey, or TEGV; Professor Oğuz Polat, chairman of the Society for the Protection and Rehabilitation of Children from Abuse; and Ümran Sölez Tan, retired judge at the Istanbul Juvenile Courts
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