Child Neglect and Abuse Information Booklet

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Raziye Bilge Uzun, faculty member at the Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance of BAHÇEŞEHİR University Faculty of Educational Sciences, and her students prepared a booklet as part of the 'Child Neglect and Abuse' course. Emphasizing that they aim to raise greater awareness in society by informing parents through the booklet, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Raziye Bilge Uzun stated that 75 percent of child abuse cases may occur within the family and 15 percent may be committed by people close to the family.

To download the booklet, please click here

The 'Child Neglect and Abuse' booklet explains the types of neglect and abuse, where to apply in cases of abuse, and the effects of neglect and abuse on the child. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Raziye Bilge Uzun stated that with the booklet they aim to reach everyone, especially mothers, fathers and teachers.

"THEY SHOULD LEARN TO SAY NO"

Emphasizing that children should grow up knowing their own rights and with self-confidence, and that they need to learn to say 'no' to behaviors and attitudes they do not want, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Uzun said: "It is nice for a young child to share their toys and bread, but later, when the child learns to take instructions from the parent, life goes on that way, and unfortunately children grow up not knowing how to say 'no'. After a certain age, a child can express this verbally, but at younger ages, because they see it as a sign of affection, children cannot say no even to sexual abuse."

"EMOTIONAL DYSREGULATION AND DEPRESSION ARE OBSERVED IN ABUSED CHILDREN"

Stating that parents notice physically abused children more easily, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Uzun said: "In physical abuse, injuries, bruises and difficulty sitting can be seen on the body, and parents can notice these one way or another. If these signs are not present, the child keeps the situation entirely to themselves, and this can be understood very clearly from their behavior. The child starts waking up with nightmares, fearing adults and, especially if the abuse was committed by an adult around them, staying away from that person. Unexplained emotional dysregulation, trust problems, sudden outbursts of anger and crying for no reason may begin. The child starts withdrawing from school and friends because they no longer feel they belong to that group of friends. Because those scenes appear in the child's mind, attention problems, learning delays and depression can be observed in the child."

"IT MUST BE REPORTED..."

Emphasizing that people who are aware of abuse or the possibility of abuse, as well as the parents of an abused child, need to be more conscious, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Uzun said: "Families should accept their children and make the child feel that it is not their fault. As a family, we should constantly make the child feel that we are by their side. In such a case, families should report the situation to the nearest child police station or the gendarmerie. In addition, reports should be made to the Child Monitoring Centers (ÇİM), which currently exist in 13 provinces and are planned to be extended to all 81 provinces, either by phone or in person. By law, everyone who has knowledge of such abuse or its possibility must report it."

"IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE PROCESS TO BE FOLLOWED WITH EXPERTS"

Saying "Looking at abuse cases, it is observed that an adult who abuses a child then does the same to other children," Assoc. Prof. Dr. Uzun said: "According to Article 236 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the child's statement must be taken once in front of a camera. In some cases there may be no camera, but in such cases the child should be taken to child monitoring centers and their statement taken in the presence of a psychologist, psychiatrist or specialist. Making the child relive again and again a situation that is difficult both to experience and to express is not at all an appropriate method."

The booklet 'Child Neglect and Abuse', which aims to reach people from all walks of life, can also be downloaded from the Bahçeşehir University website.

For the information booklet prepared by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bilge UZUN and her students as part of the summer school course "Child Maltreatment" to raise awareness of child neglect and abuse, pleaseclick here